Phyllosilicate minerals are an emerging class of naturally occurring layered insulators with large bandgap energy that have gained considerable attention from the scientific community. This class of lamellar materials has been recently explored at the ultrathin two-dimensional level due to their specific mechanical and optoelectronic properties, which are crucial for engineering novel devices (including heterostructures). Due to these properties, phyllosilicate minerals can be considered promising low-cost nanomaterials for future electronics, photonics, and optoelectronics applications. Here, we will provide an overview of nano-optics and local chemistry of various 2D natural phyllosilicates by IR s-SNOM. Also, the relevant features of these layered materials for their use in potential optoelectronic applications will be presented.
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