Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride for Building Next-Generation Energy-Efficient Devices

Advances in the optoelectronics and information industries have allowed modern electronic devices to undergo a continuous trend toward miniaturization and integration, which poses significant challenges to today's manufacturing technologies. The rise of two-dimensional (2D) atomically crystalline materials offers new possibilities for the design and fabrication of devices at the micro- or nanoscale. Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is an important emerging candidate in the family of 2D materials; it holds many intriguing properties of far-reaching significance. Throughout the upsurge in research on 2D materials over the past few decades, 2D hBN has been a versatile platform for various applications. To offer some perspective on the promising attributes of hBN, in this Focus Review we take a snapshot of recent advances in its applications in optoelectronics and photonics, thermal management, batteries, and supercapacitors and provide an outlook on the prospects and remaining challenges for its successful implementation in next-generation energy-efficient devices.