Morphologically Controlled Synthesis of Reduced-Dimensional ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ Nanosheets

Conventional two-dimensional materials either have natural layered structures or are produced, with large surface areas, via physical or chemical synthesis. However, to form a two-dimensional material from a non-layered material, a method different from the existing ones is required. In this study, a surfactant-assisted method was utilized to synthesize Zn(OH)₂ (a nonlayered transition metal oxide) nanosheets. This study described the synthesis of Zn(OH)₂ nanosheets using an anionic sulfate layer and demonstrated a method of controlling the thickness and shape of the synthesized nanosheets by varying the surfactant concentration. Further, the characteristics of oxygen evolution reaction using ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ nanosheets, obtained by annealing the synthesized sheets, as catalysts were studied.