Misfit Layered Compounds: Unique, Tunable Heterostructured Materials with Untapped Properties

Abstract: Building on discoveries in graphene and two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides, van der Waals (VdW) layered heterostructures - stacks of such 2D materials - are being extensively explored with resulting new discoveries of novel electronic and magnetic properties in the ultrathin limit. Here we review a class of naturally occurring heterostructures - so called misfits - that combine disparate VdW layers with complex stacking. Exhibiting remarkable structural complexity and diversity of phenomena, misfits provide a platform on which to systematically explore the energetics and local bonding constraints of heterostructures and how they can be used to engineer novel quantum fabrics, electronic responsiveness, and magnetic phenomena. Like traditional classes of layered materials, they are often exfoliatable and thus also incorporatable as units in manually or robotically stacked heterostructures. Here we review the known classes of misfit structures, the tools for their single crystal and thin film synthesis, the physical properties they exhibit, and computational and characterization tools that are unraveling their complexity. Directions for future research are also discussed.