Nitrogen-Anchored Boridene Enables Mg–CO2 Batteries with High Reversibility

Nanoscale defect engineering plays a crucial role in incorporating extraordinary catalytic properties in two-dimensional materials by varying the surface groups or site interactions. Herein, we synthesized high-loaded nitrogen-doped Boridene (N-Boridene (Mo4/3(BnN1–n)2–mTz), N-doped concentration up to 26.78 at %) nanosheets by chemical exfoliation followed by cyanamide intercalation. Three different nitrogen sites are observed in N-Boridene, wherein the site of boron vacancy substitution mainly accounts for its high chemical activity. Attractively, as a cathode for Mg–CO2 batteries, it delivers a long-term lifetime (305 cycles), high-energy efficiency (93.6%), and ultralow overpotential (∼0.09 V) at a high current of 200 mA g–1, which overwhelms all Mg–CO2 batteries reported so far. Experimental and computational studies suggest that N-Boridene can remarkably change the adsorption energy of the reaction products and lower the energy barrier of the rate-determining step (*MgCO2 → *MgCO3·xH2O), resulting in the rapid reversible formation/decomposition of new MgCO3·5H2O products. The surging Boridene materials with defects provide substantial opportunities to develop other heterogeneous catalysts for efficient capture and converting of CO2.