β₁₂-Borophene/Graphene Heterostructure as a High-Performance Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries

In the world of two-dimensional (2D) materials, various Borophene allotropes have gained significant attention for their remarkable specific capacity. However, the instability of monolayers has challenged experimental investigations of innovative approaches. Due to this limitation, in this work, graphene was investigated as a sublayer with the aim of providing stability to the β₁₂-borophene monolayer. This study delves into the potential of a novel β₁₂-borophene/graphene (β₁₂-B/G) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure using Quantum Espresso software based on vdW-corrected density functional theory. Our investigation includes exploring thermal and dynamical stability, adsorption energy, open circuit voltage, specific capacity, and diffusion barrier energy properties. Impressively, the calculated specific capacity reached 907 mAh/g, outperforming other 2D materials and heterostructures. The combination of a graphene layer not only ensures dynamical stability but also provides the adsorption energy of lithiumon the β₁₂-borophene layer, simultaneously decreasing the diffusion barrier energy in comparison with the β₁₂-borophene monolayer. The calculated open circuit voltage falls in the range 0.08-1.09 V, rendering it suitable for an overall average commercial voltage. For the borophene layer, the computed diffusion barrier energies are approximately 0.52 and 0.78 eV. Collectively, these findings underscore the potential of theβ₁₂-B/G heterostructure as an advanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries.