Facial synthesis of two-dimensional In2S3/Ti3C2Tx heterostructures with boosted photoactivity for the hydrogenation of nitroaromatic compounds

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures have gained increased interest in recent years due to the integrated functionalities of the individual building blocks and beyond. Herein, we have fabricated 2D In₂S₃/Ti₃C₂T_x heterostructures through a facile one-step low temperature refluxing method. While bare In₂S₃ tends to evolve as nanoparticles, it is found that Ti₃C₂T_x (MXene) acts as the platform for directing the growth of 2D In₂S₃ nanoflakes, thereby generating 2D In₂S₃/Ti₃C₂T_x heterostructures. For the probe reaction of nitroaromatic compound hydrogenation, In₂S₃/Ti₃C₂T_x composites exhibited boosted photocatalytic activities compared to bare In₂S₃, which can be ascribed to the favorable active site exposure in the 2D/2D heterostructures and the “electron sink” effect of the Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets. This work distinctly indicates that Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets are a promising platform for fabricating 2D/2D heterostructures for photoredox catalysis.