Recent advances in transition-metal dichalcogenide based nanomaterials for water splitting

Abstract

The desire for sustainable and clean energy future continues to be the concern of the scientific community. Researchers are incessantly targeting the development of scalable and abundant electro- or photo-catalysts for water splitting. Owing to their suitable band-gap and excellent stability, an enormous amount of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with hierarchical nanostructures have been extensively explored. Herein, we present an overview of the recent research progresses in the design, characterization and applications of the TMD-based electro- or photo-catalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution. Emphasis is given to the layered and pyrite-phase structured TMDs encompassing semiconducting and metallic nanomaterials. Illustrative results and the future prospects are pointed out. This review will provide the readers with insight into the state-of-the-art research progresses in TMD based nanomaterials for water splitting.

Zinc Oxide Coating Effect for the Dye Removal and Photocatalytic Mechanisms of Flower-Like MoS2 Nanoparticles

“…Among those photocatalysts, the two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received an increasing attention for the strong anisotropy of their electrical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) is one of the most studied examples in recent years [17–19]. Interestingly, MoS 2 has enormous potential application value in the field of low-cost adsorbents and environmental friendly photocatalysts because of its tunable band gap (1.29–1.9 eV) and morphology [20].…”

Interlayer Nanoarchitectonics of Two‐Dimensional Transition‐Metal Dichalcogenides Nanosheets for Energy Storage and Conversion Applications

“…Other than non-noble metals and their alloys, transition metal chalcogenides, carbides, phosphides, nitrides, and borides have also been extensively explored. [10,133] [8,134,135] Several strategies have been developed to optimize the HER catalytic efficiency and stability of MX 2 materials: (i) increasing the number of exposed active edge sites (by reducing size, increasing defects on the basal planes, making vertically aligned morphology etc. ); [14,16,17,77] (ii) improving electrical conductivity of the MX 2 electrocatalysts (by incorporation conductive carbon materials, semiconducting (2H)-to-metallic (1T) phase transformation etc); [19,20,[136][137][138][139] and (iii) enhancing the catalytic activities of the active sites by alloying/doping.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Owing to their high anisotropy and unique crystal structures, MX 2 can be utilized in a variety of energy conversion and storage applications, including water splitting cells, rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, as well as various electronic and optoelectronic devices, etc. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Nanoengineering (morphology, size, number of layers, edges, defects), [12][13][14][15][16][17] phase conversion, [18][19][20][21][22][23] and composition tuning (alloying, doping with foreign transition metal), [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] represent the hot research areas in the recent past, aiming at modulation of the material properties and improvement of the device performances. Such impressive progress benefits from the success in synthesizing nanostructured MX 2 with precisely controlled parameters including edge density and crystalline phase.…”

Electrochemical Applications of Two-Dimensional Nanosheets: The Effect of Nanosheet Length and Thickness

“…For example, TMDs such as MoS2 and WS2 have been widely used as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and water splitting. 23,24 Similarly, a number of LDHs have been used successfully to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). 25,26 Alternatively, graphene and MoS2 find applications to generate solar energy, notably by replacing platinum in catalytic counter electrodes in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).…”