The growth and characterization of silicene, germanene and hexagonal boron nitride

The discovery of graphene inspired the exploration of other 2D-materials. Silicon and germanium are elements with similar features as carbon. This lead to the fabrication of graphene's cousins, silicene and germanene, with similar properties as graphene. Notable differences are found in the structural and electronic properties of silicene and germanene versus graphene. Following the same reasoning, hexagonal boron-nitride was proposed as a graphene-like material. Unlike other 2D-materials, hexagonal boron-nitride is an insulator that may act as a buffer layer of 2D-materials. Therefore, the properties and synthesis of these materials are addressed in this thesis.