From synthesis to functionality: Borophene's transformative potential in next-generation electrocatalysis and battery applications

Abstract

Borophene, a novel two-dimensional boron allotrope, has rapidly emerged as a transformative material due to its unique atomic configurations and tunable properties. Its intrinsic electron deficiency gives rise to a diverse range of structural motifs from atomically thin flat sheets to corrugated and striped architectures that underpin remarkable mechanical strength, high electrical conductivity, and superior ion transport. This review comprehensively examines recent advances in borophene synthesis, stabilization, and functionalization. Special emphasis is placed on understanding how defect engineering, heteroatom doping, and the formation of heterostructures can mitigate borophene's inherent instability while enhancing its catalytic and electrochemical performance. In particular, borophene's potential in electrocatalytic water splitting is highlighted, where its abundant active sites facilitate efficient hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions as well as for high-capacity anodes in lithium-ion batteries, where storage capacities far exceed those of conventional materials. Though targeting distinct functions, both of these applications rely on shared electrochemical fundamentals and structural design strategies, supporting a unified treatment of borophene's energy applications. Despite promising theoretical and experimental results, challenges in scalable synthesis, stability, and integration persist, highlighting the need for advanced interdisciplinary strategies to fully harness borophene's potential in next-generation energy conversion and storage applications.