Charge self-regulation over in-plane two-dimensional/two-dimensional hetero-cocatalyst for robust photocatalytic...

The rationally designing and constructing atomic-level heterointerface of two-dimensional (2D) chalcogenides is highly desirable to overcome the sluggish H₂O-activation process toward efficient solar-driven hydrogen evolution. Herein, a novel in-plane 2D/2D molybdenum disulfide-rhenium disulfide (ReS₂-MoS₂) heterostructure is well-designed to induce the charge self-regulation of active site by forming electron-enriched Re^(4-δ)+ and electron-deficient S^(2-δ)- sites, thus collectively facilitating the activation of adsorbed H₂O molecules and its subsequent H₂ evolution. Furthermore, the obtained in-plane heterogenous ReS₂-MoS₂ nanosheet can powerfully transfer photoexcited electrons to inhibit photocarrier recombination as observed by advanced Kelvin probe measurement (KPFM), in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS). As expected, the obtained ReS₂-MoS₂/TiO₂ photocatalyst achieves an outperformed H₂-generation rate of 6878.3 μmol h^-1 g^-1 with visualizing H₂ bubbles in alkaline/neutral conditions. This work about in-plane 2D/2D heterostructure with strong free-electron interaction provides a promising strategy for designing novel and efficient catalysts for various applications.