Interlayer Interactions in Two-Dimensional Materials

Interlayer interactions in two-dimensional materials govern a wide range of phenomena from mechanical stability to electronic transport. These materials, composed of single-atom-thick layers such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and hexagonal boron nitride, are bound within each plane by strong covalent forces but held together across planes by weaker forces. The weak interlayer coupling enables mechanical exfoliation and stacking of disparate layers into bespoke heterostructures, permitting control over charge transfer, energy-band alignment and thermal conductivity. Variation in stacking order, rotational misalignment and external stimuli such as pressure or electric fields modulates interlayer spacing, binding energy and frictional properties. Consequently, phenomena such as tunable conductivity, superlubricity, superconductivity and novel excitonic states emerge at interfaces. Progress in both experimental probes—such as atomic force microscopy, spectroscopy and transport measurements—and theoretical modelling using density functional theory and continuum mechanics has deepened our understanding of interlayer potentials, sliding mechanisms and registry-dependent properties. These insights underpin advances in next-generation electronics, optoelectronics and nanomechanical systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have established the quantitative relationship between twist angle and interlayer transport in van der Waals heterojunctions formed by materials such as molybdenum disulphide and graphene. Experimental measurements reveal that vertical conductivity can vary by a factor of five when the relative orientation of adjacent layers is altered, highlighting the role of interlayer orbital overlap in tuning electronic transmission. Complementary work has provided the first direct measurement of cleavage energy in graphite, determining a value of approximately 0.37 J m−2 that remains invariant across a range of temperatures and twist configurations. This parameter serves as a benchmark for theoretical models of dispersion forces between layers. Further advances have distinguished edge and bulk contributions to interlayer conduction in twisted graphite interfaces, demonstrating that, even in incommensurate structures, edge-mediated transport can dominate at micrometre-scale contacts. These findings elucidate critical factors for the design of low-resistance interconnects and nanoscale electronic devices.

Interlayer Interactions in Two-Dimensional Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in interlayer interactions in two-dimensional materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Van der Waals interactions: Weak attractive forces arising from instantaneous charge fluctuations between adjacent layers.

Moiré superlattice: A large-scale periodic pattern formed by rotational or lattice mismatches between stacked layers.

Twist angle: The relative rotational orientation between two adjacent crystalline layers.

Heterostructure: A composite assembly of two-dimensional materials stacked in a controlled sequence.

Cleavage energy: The energy required to separate two adjacent layers in a layered material.

References

1. Twist angle-dependent conductivities across MoS2/graphene heterojunctions. Nature Communications (2018).
2. Measurement of the cleavage energy of graphite. Nature Communications (2015).
3. The scaling laws of edge vs. bulk interlayer conduction in mesoscale twisted graphitic interfaces. Nature Communications (2020).
4. Moiré superlattice effects on interfacial mechanical behavior: A concise review. Interdisciplinary Materials (2024).
5. Deducing the internal interfaces of twisted multilayer graphene via moiré-regulated surface conductivity. National Science Review (2023).
6. Anisotropic Interlayer Force Field for Transition Metal Dichalcogenides: The Case of Molybdenum Disulfide. Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation (2021).