As global energy demands surge and fossil-fuel reserves shrink, next-generation 2D materials are racing to deliver ultrahigh capacity, ultrafast kinetics and rock-solid stability. Now, researchers from Henan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences—led by Dr Jai Kumar, Dr Zhuanpei Wang and Prof Xiaowei Yang—have published a panoramic review on MBene, the boron-based sibling of MXene, that charts a direct route from wet-lab synthesis to AI-guided device deployment. The work offers a one-stop roadmap for harnessing MBene in batteries, supercapacitors, CO 2 electro-reduction and ammonia electrosynthesis.
Why MBene Matters
• Metallic conductivity & ceramic-like robustness – 200–320 GPa Young’s modulus and 5 eV cohesive energy outclass graphene and phosphorene.
• Tunable 0–0.5 eV diffusion barriers for Li⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ – enable 5 C charging without plating or dendrites.
• Boron-rich surface – delivers selective N 2 -to-NH 3 and CO 2 -to-CH 4 catalysis while suppressing H 2 side-reactions.
• Etch-friendly MAB precursors – allow fluorine-free, NaOH-based delamination for green, gram-scale production.
Innovative Design & Features
• Structural palette : ortho-MBene, hex-MBene, tetr-Mo 2 B 2 , tri-Mo 2 B 2 and vacancy-engineered Mo 2 B 2-x .
• Surface terminations : –O, –S, –Cl, –Br and in-situ N-doping modulate work-function (4.2–5.1 eV) and ion affinity.
• Layer-number control : mono- to tri-layer flakes balance 450 m 2 g -1 SSA vs long-cycle restacking resistance.
• Hybrid scaffolds : MBene/CNT, CoO/MBene and S-anchored MBene aerogels push areal capacity beyond 12 mAh cm -2 .
Applications & Future Outlook
• Multi-metal-ion batteries : 3377 mAh g -1 (CrB 4 -Ca), 923 mAh g -1 (Mo 2 B-Mg), 797 mAh g -1 (Ti 2 BN-Na) and 144 mAh g -1 (MoB-Li) at ≥2 A g -1 for 1000 cycles.
• Li–S chemistry : shuttle-free 86 % retention after 1000 cycles at 15 mg cm -2 sulfur loading via B-, O-, F-active sites.
• Supercapacitors : 2006 mF cm -2 (1/24-MoAl 1-x B) with 80 % retention after 5000 cycles in aqueous Na 2 SO 4 .
• CO 2 RR & NRR : overpotentials down to –0.13 V (CrB-NH 3 ) and –0.45 V (MoB 2 -CH 4 ) rival Cu and Ru benchmarks.
• AI acceleration : machine-learning models trained on 10 4 DFT data points now predict stable MAB phases and surface terminations within seconds, slashing trial-and-error by 90 %.
Challenges & Opportunities
The review pinpoints scalable CVD growth, ambient-stability coatings, in-line spectroscopic QA, and hybrid AI-robotic synthesis as the next milestones to move MBene from benchtop breakthrough to gigafactory reality.
Nano-Micro Letters
News article
Advancing Energy Development with MBene: Chemical Mechanism, AI, and Applications in Energy Storage and Harvesting
4-Jan-2026