Electronic Structure Modulation of Borophene via N, S Modification and Iridium Infusion for Superior Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Borophene, a newly emerging 2D boron allotrope, holds promise for electrocatalysis but suffers from limited conductivity, partial metallicity, and structural instability during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, we developed a facile synthesis approach combining heteroatom (N, S) doping and iridium infusion to engineer borophene nanosheets. The resulting catalysts (BPN, BPNS, BPN–Ir, and BPNS–Ir) exhibited enhanced OER performance, with BPN-Ir and BPNS-Ir achieving the average lowest overpotential (278 and 281 mV at 10 mA cm–2), Tafel slopes of 83 and 104 mV dec–1 over multiple trials, and excellent durability over 12 h. These improvements are attributed to electronic structure modulation, and abundant active sites that are enabled by synergistic functionalization. This work highlights an industrially efficient synthesis pathway to engineer borophene and provides a doping and functionalization technique for OER applications.