Realization of 2D metals and emergent quantum phenomena

Nature Reviews Physics, Published online: 09 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s42254-026-00937-6 2D materials are appealing for emergent phenomena and applications, but despite the realization of many 2D layered crystals, 2D metals remain hard to realize because of their non-layered nature. In the past year, a van der Waals squeezing method has been developed for the production of diverse 2D metals at ångström-scale thickness, revealing exceptional quantum transport.