Beyond the horizons of graphene: xenes for energy applications

Abstract

Almost two decades have passed since the discovery of graphene in 2004, which has revolutionized the world with its diverse applications. One application field is devoted to the future of energy materials, which is possible due to the various well-suited properties of graphene. This development is not limited to carbon-based materials. In the last decade, different new 2D materials similar to graphene were fabricated, having potential to be implemented as catalysts, supercapacitors, and batteries. These materials include mono-elemental 2D materials in groups 13, 14, 15, and 16 of the periodic table. Specifically, borophene, aluminene, gallenene, indiene, and thallene from group 13; graphene, silicene, germanene, stanene, and plumbene from group 14; phosphorene, arsenene, antimonene, and bismuthene from group 15; and sulfurene, selenene, tellurene, and poloniumene from group 16. Herein, we emphasize the general properties of these materials and the possibility of using them in energy applications based on their properties. This work will shed light on the future prospect of using mono-elemental 2D materials and how they may be better alternatives to graphene-based systems.