Growing vertical in the flatland

The world of two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures continues to expand at a rate much greater than anyone could have predicted 10 years ago, but if we are to make the leap from science to technology, many materials challenges must still be overcome. Recent advances, such as those by Liu et al. in this issue of ACS Nano, demonstrate that it is possible to grow rotationally commensurate 2D heterostructures, which could pave the way toward single crystal van der Waals solids. In this Perspective, I provide some insight into a few of the challenges associated with growth of heterostructures, and discuss some of the recent works that help us better understand synthetic realization of 2D heterostructures.