Germanene is the Ge analogue Silicene or Graphene. A number of ab-initio calculations in the literature suggest that Germanene sheets should exist. Those reports suggest that the material would have a buckled structure, where half the atoms are about 0.07 nm higher than the other half. Micro Raman, electrochemistry and in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) have been used to better understand the electrochemical growth of Ge from aqueous solutions, from the first atomic layers on Au(111). Our initial studies of the electrodeposition of Ge resulted in some interesting, though not clearly understood results, such as why only about 2-3 ML of Ge could be formed by direct electrodeposition on Au, depending on the pH. Some reports in the literature indicate that thicker deposits of Ge can be formed by electrodeposition on electrode surfaces other than Au. It is not yet clear why Au would be different. In-situ STM studies of the first atomic layers of Ge have shown a number of processes which indicate that nanoscopic atomically flat layers are forming on the surface, which demonstrate that Germanene is being formed. Micro Raman has also demonstrated the presences of Germanene grown on Au(111), which displays a Raman band near 295 cm^-1. These results will be described.

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