Issue 2, 2023

2D MoS2/BiOBr van der Waals heterojunctions by liquid-phase exfoliation as photoelectrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

Abstract

As a semiconductor used for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), BiOBr has received intensive attention in recent years. However, the high recombination of photoexcited charge carriers results in poor photocatalytic efficiency. The combination with other photoactive semiconductors might represent a valuable approach to deal with the intrinsic limitations of the material. Given that BiOBr has a 2D structure, we propose a simple liquid-phase exfoliation method to peel BiOBr microspheres into few-layer nanosheets. By tuning the weight ratio between the precursors, we prepare a series of 2D MoS2/BiOBr van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions and study their behaviour as (photo)electrocatalysts for the HER, finding dramatic differences as a function of weight composition. Moreover, we found that pristine 2D BiOBr and the heterojunctions, with the exception of the 1% MoS2/BiOBr composition, undergo photocorrosion, with BiOBr being reduced to metallic Bi. These findings provide useful guidelines to design novel 2D material-based (photo)electrocatalysts for the production of sustainable fuels.

Graphical abstract: 2D MoS2/BiOBr van der Waals heterojunctions by liquid-phase exfoliation as photoelectrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Sept. 2022
Accepted
24 Nov. 2022
First published
25 Nov. 2022

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 522-531

2D MoS2/BiOBr van der Waals heterojunctions by liquid-phase exfoliation as photoelectrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution

M. Wang, S. Osella, R. Brescia, Z. Liu, J. Gallego, M. Cattelan, M. Crisci, S. Agnoli and T. Gatti, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 522 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR04970H

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