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The van der Waals MoSi2N4 materials family

Nature Reviews Materials (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides, are normally limited by the known 3D bulk materials. The design and synthesis of entirely new 2D materials, particularly van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, would significantly expand the properties and functionalities of 2D materials. In 2020, a novel vdW layered material, MoSi2N4, was synthesized by passivating the surface of 2D non-layered molybdenum nitride with the addition of elemental silicon, which has since opened up a new vdW materials family with the general formula MA2Z4. To date, over a hundred MA2Z4 materials and their derivatives have been predicted, in addition to the synthesized MSi2N4 (M = Mo, W), encompassing metals, semiconductors, superconductors, topological insulators, ferroelectrics and ferromagnets, owing to the diversity of elements and structures in MA2Z4. Such materials exhibit a variety of exceptional electronic, optical, thermal, mechanical, ferroelectric and magnetic properties, and they are promising for applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis and batteries. Over the past 4 years, the MoSi2N4 materials family has rapidly emerged as a key research frontier in materials science. In this Review, we summarize recent advances in the investigation of materials in the MoSi2N4 family, covering their crystal structure, synthesis methods, fundamental properties and potential applications, and provide an outlook on future research directions.

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Fig. 1: Synthesis and crystal structure of MoSi2N4.
Fig. 2: ‘Periodic table’ of the van der Waals MoSi2N4 materials family.
Fig. 3: Crystal structures of MA2Z4 materials and their derivatives.
Fig. 4: Synthesis of MSi2N4 (M = Mo, W) and its derivatives.
Fig. 5: Electronic band structures of MoSi2N4 and other MA2Z4 materials.
Fig. 6: Properties of MoSi2N4 and other MA2Z4 materials.
Fig. 7: Magnetic and spin–valley properties.
Fig. 8: Applications of MA2Z4 materials.

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Acknowledgements

W.R. thanks H. M. Cheng, the numerous graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and collaborators at Institute of Metal Research, CAS, and elsewhere, who helped in the exploration of MoSi2N4 materials family. The authors thanks Z. B. Liu for valuable discussions on materials structure. Research on MoSi2N4 materials family was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (numbers 52188101, 51325205, 51290273, 52122202 and 52402064), the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (number ZDBS-LY-JSC027), the LiaoNing Revitalization Talents Program (numbers XLYC2201003 and XLYC2403170), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M743577), and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Grade C) of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (GZC20232751).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P. R. China

    Tianya Zhou  (周天亚), Chuan Xu  (徐川) & Wencai Ren  (任文才)

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Shenyang, P. R. China

    Chuan Xu  (徐川) & Wencai Ren  (任文才)

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  1. Tianya Zhou  (周天亚)
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  2. Chuan Xu  (徐川)
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  3. Wencai Ren  (任文才)
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W.R. conceived the manuscript, wrote the manuscript with T.Z., and revised and finalized the manuscript. C.X. discussed and helped with the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wencai Ren  (任文才).

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Zhou, T., Xu, C. & Ren, W. The van der Waals MoSi2N4 materials family. Nat Rev Mater (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-025-00832-z

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