Sea-urchin-like ReS2 nanosheets with charge edge-collection effect as a novel cocatalyst for high-efficiency photocatalytic H2 evolution

• Main Authors: Lin, Bo, Ma, Bowen, Chen, Jiangang, Zhou, Yao, Zhou, Jiadong, Yan, Xiaoqing, Xue, Chao, Luo, Xiao, Liu, Qing, Wang, Jinyong, Bian, Renji, Yang, Guidong, Liu, Fucai
• Other Authors: School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials; Science::Chemistry; Charge Transfer; 2D Planar Edges/Tips
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/162417
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The recombination of charge carriers arriving from the random charge movement in semiconductor photocatalysts greatly limits the practical application of solar-driven H2 evolution. The design of photocatalytic systems with spatially oriented charge-transfer is a promising route to achieve high charge-separation efficiency for photocatalysts. Herein, novel sea-urchin-like ReS2 nanosheet/TiO2 nanoparticle heterojunctions (SURTHs) are constructed. The unique sea-urchin-like structure endows the ReS2 cocatalyst with an unusual charge edge-collection effect, which leads to a significant acceleration of charge separation and transfer, as evidenced by the well-designed selective photodeposition of Pt quantum dots in SURTHs. The markedly improved charge transfer capacity contributes to a high photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 3.71 mmol h−1 g−1 for SURTHs (an apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 16.09%), up to 231.9 times by contrast with that of P25 TiO2. This work would provide a new platform for designing the high-efficiency cocatalyst/photocatalyst system with excellent charge transfer capacity.