Germanene: Silicene’s twin sister

Soon after the discovery of graphene, the first two-dimensional material, many other two-dimensional materials have been developed. Due to their s²p² type of electronic structure the elements of the ‘carbon’ column of the periodic system i.e. silicon, germanium and tin have received a lot of attention as potential two-dimensional materials. The silicon, germanium and tin analogues of graphene are coined silicene, germanene and tinene or stanene, respectively, and share many properties with graphene. There are, however, also a few distinct differences with graphene. Here we will give a brief update on the current status of germanene. We briefly review the various routes to synthesize germanene and elaborate on its structural and electronic properties as well as its potential for application in future electronic devices.