Advances in boron nitride-based materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion

Energy storage and conversion (ESC) devices are regarded as predominant technologies to reach zero emission of carbon dioxide, which still face many challenges, such as poor safety, limited cycle life, low efficiency, etc. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), distinguished by its robust mechanical strength, chemical inertness, exceptional thermal stability, and superior ion conductivity, has appeared to meet some challenges of ESC devices. Typically, h-BN can act as a perfect modifier to enhance the safety of batteries by improving the mechanical strength and heat dissipation of separators, extend cycle life of Li metal batteries by protecting solid state electrolyte from reducing and increase efficiency of fuel cells by improving the proton conductivity of membranes. Besides, recent progress on doping, surface modification, tailoring quantum dots, heterostructures, and hybridizations with other nanomaterials has made it possible to extensively apply h-BN to other ESC technologies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the up-to-date synthetic strategies for BN-based materials and discusses the most recent breakthroughs on their application in electrochemical ESC technologies. Also, the challenges and future development for BN-based materials in these fields are assessed.