Altermagnets -- newly identified collinear antiferromagnets -- carry zero net moment with non-relativistic, spin-polarized bands, distilling the best of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets into a single spintronic platform. Shrunking to the two-dimensional limit, they inherit the tunability of two-dimensional crystals while adding symmetry-protected spin splitting, a combination now driving intense experimental interest. Here, we review the symmetry classification of two-dimensional altermagnets based on spin-group theory and survey the growing list of candidate materials, emphasizing those with large spin splitting for experimental realization. We then examine strategies for engineering two-dimensional altermagnetism. This Review aims to consolidate theoretically proposed candidate materials and realization strategies for two-dimensional altermagnets, providing insights for future experimental efforts in this emerging field.
@article{arxiv.2601.10183,
title = {Classification and design of two-dimensional altermagnets},
author = {Sike Zeng and Dong Liu and Hongjie Peng and Chang-Chun He and Xiao-Bao Yang and Yu-Jun Zhao},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.10183},
year = {2026}
}