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Is Silicene the Next Graphene?

This article reviews silicene, a relatively new allotrope of silicon, which can also be viewed as the silicon version of graphene. Graphene is a two-dimensional material with unique electronic properties qualitatively different from those of standard semiconductors such as silicon. While many other two-dimensional materials are now being studied, our focus here is solely on silicene. We first discuss its synthesis and the challenges presented. Next, a survey of some of its physical properties is provided. Silicene shares many of the fascinating properties of graphene, such as the so-called Dirac electronic dispersion. The slightly different structure, however, leads to a few major differences compared to graphene, such as the ability to open a bandgap in the presence of an electric field or on a substrate, a key property for digital electronics applications. We conclude with a brief survey of some of the potential applications of silicene.