Complex metal borohydrides: multifunctional materials for energy storage and conversion

With the limited supply of fossil fuels and their adverse effect on the climate and the environment, it has become a global priority to seek alternate sources of energy that are clean, abundant, and sustainable. While sources such as solar, wind, and hydrogen can meet the world's energy demand, considerable challenges remain to find materials that can store and/or convert energy efficiently. This topical review focuses on one such class of materials, namely, multi-functional complex metal borohydrides that not only have the ability to store sufficient amount of hydrogen to meet the needs of the transportation industry, but also can be used for a new generation of metal ion batteries and solar cells. We discuss the material challenges in all these areas and review the progress that has been made to address them, the issues that still need to be resolved and the outlook for the future.