A Generalized Strategy for the Synthesis of Large‐Size Ultrathin Two‐Dimensional Metal Oxide Nanosheets

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials show unique electrical, mechanical, and catalytic performance owing to their ultrahigh surface-to-volume ratio and quantum confinement effects. Yet, how to simply synthesize 2D metal oxide nanosheets through a general and facile method is still a big challenge. Herein, we report a generalized and facile strategy to synthesize large-size ultrathin 2D metal oxide nanosheets by using graphene oxide (GO) as a template in a wet-chemical system. Notably, the novel strategy mainly relies on accurately controlling the balance between heterogeneous growth and nucleation of metal oxides on the surface of GO, which is independent on the individual metal elements' characters. Therefore, ultrathin nanosheets of various metal oxides, including those from both main group and transition regions, can be synthesized with large-size. Besides, the ultrathin 2D metal oxide nanosheets show controllable thickness and unique surface chemical state.