  This article reviews silicene, a relatively new allotrope of silicon, which
can also be viewed as the silicon version of graphene. Graphene is a
two-dimensional material with unique electronic properties qualitatively
different from those of standard semiconductors such as silicon. While many
other two-dimensional materials are now being studied, our focus here is solely
on silicene. We first discuss its synthesis and the challenges presented. Next,
a survey of some of its physical properties is provided. Silicene shares many
of the fascinating properties of graphene, such as the so-called Dirac
electronic dispersion. The slightly different structure, however, leads to a
few major differences compared to graphene, such as the ability to open a
bandgap in the presence of an electric field or on a substrate, a key property
for digital electronics applications. We conclude with a brief survey of some
of the potential applications of silicene.
