  The discoveries of magnetism and ferroelectricity in 2D van der Waals (vdW)
materials have brought important functionalities to the 2D materials family,
and may trigger a revolution in next generation nanoelectronics and
spintronics. In this perspective article, we briefly review the recent progress
in the field of 2D ferroelectrics, focusing on the mechanisms that drive
spontaneous polarizations in 2D systems, unique properties brought about by the
reduced lattice dimensionality, and promising applications of 2D
ferroelectrics. At the end, we provide an outlook for challenges that need to
be addressed and our view on possible future research directions.
