Recent progress on antimonene: from theoretical calculation to epitaxial growth

Monolayer antimony (antimonene) is an emerging 2D material that has recently attracted considerable attention due to its intriguing structure and fascinating electronic properties as theoretically predicted. In order to extensively explore this material in both fundamental research and potential applications, it is important to first prepare high-quality monolayer antimony. In this review, we focus on the theoretical calculations and experimental achievements for both α - and β - phases of antimonene, particularly through the use of molecular beam epitaxy. Moreover, we also provide insight for further exploring the appealing properties of antimonene and other materials with analogous structure.