General Synthesis of Nanoporous 2D Metal Compounds with 3D Bicontinous Structure

Although 2D layered metal compounds are widely exploited using various techniques such as exfoliation and vapor-phase-assisted growth, it is still challenging to construct the 2D materials in a 3D configuration with preservation of the unique physicochemical properties of the metal compounds. Herein, a general synthetic strategy is reported for a wide variety of 2D (atomic-scale thickness) metal compounds with 3D bicontinous nanoporous structure. 19 binary compounds including sulfides, selenides, tellurides, carbides, and nitrides, and five alloyed compounds, are successfully prepared via a surface alloy strategy, which are readily created by using a recyclable nanoporous gold assisted chemical vapor deposition process. These 3D nanoporous metal compounds with preserved 2D physicochemical properties, tunable pore sizes, and compositions for electrocatalytic applications, show excellent catalytic performance in the electrochemical N₂ reduction reaction. This work opens up a promising avenue for fundamental studies and potential applications of a wide variety of nanoporous metal compounds.