The electronic and structural properties of silicene, multilayer silicene, and 2D silicon films, synthesised on Ag(111), Au(111) and on the α- and β-phase Si(111)√3 × √3R30°-Bi, have been reviewed according to the results of investigations made by low energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, low/high electron energy diffraction, reflection electron energy loss, scanning tunnelling microscopy as well as spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. The findings revealed the successful growth of silicene and multilayer silicene on Ag(111) single crystal, and on the α-phase Si(111)√3 × √3R30°-Bi, while, at variance, two-dimensional Si islands (2D Si) still showing the √3 × √3R30° reconstruction, parallel to that of bismuth, were obtained on the β-phase Si(111)√3 × √3R30°-Bi. Single layer of blue phosphorus synthesised on Au(111) single crystal and on Te/Au(111), were also reviewed, and compared to silicene deposited on Ag(111) single crystal, as well as to their first-principles density functional theory calculations to show their interesting structural properties.
Padova et al. (Sun,) studied this question.