Atomically thin crystals and films and process for making same

A process for exfoliating a 3-dimensional layered material to produce a 2-dimensional material, said process comprising the steps of:

• mixing the layered material in water to provide a mixture without the use of a surfactant;
• applying energy to said mixture to exfoliate the 3-dimensional layered material and produce dispersed exfoliated 2-dimensional material;
• removing the energy applied to the mixture, such that sedimentation of the 2-dimensional material out of solution as a weakly re-aggregated, exfoliated 2-dimensional material is produced;
• and
• removing the water from the re-aggregated exfoliated 2-dimensional material to form a solid of re-aggregated exfoliated 2-dimensional material ready for storage,
• wherein the 3-dimensional layered material is selected from the group consisting of graphite, a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD), transition metal oxides, boron nitride (BN), Bi2Te3, Sb2Te3, TiNCl, or any other inorganic layered compound,
• wherein the step of removing the water is by decantation, vacuum filtration or accelerated evaporation, and
• wherein the re-aggregated exfoliated 2-dimensional material is washed with a volatile liquid selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol or acetone.