Interface Modulation of Two-Dimensional Superlattices for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

Pan Xiong; Xiuyun Zhang; Hao Wan; Shijian Wang; Yufei Zhao; Jinqiang Zhang; Dong Zhou; Weicheng Gao; Renzhi Ma; Takayoshi Sasaki; Guoxiu Wang

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01329

Interface Modulation of Two-Dimensional Superlattices for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

Nano Lett. 2019 Jul 10;19(7):4518-4526. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01329. Epub 2019 Jun 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Clean Energy Technology, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences , University of Technology Sydney , Sydney , NSW 2007 , Australia.
² College of Physical Science and Technology , Yangzhou University , Yangzhou 225002 , China.
³ International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA) , National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Namiki 1-1 , Tsukuba , Ibaraki 305-0044 , Japan.

PMID: 31185571
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01329

Abstract

Molecular-scale modulation of interfaces between different unilamellar nanosheets in superlattices is promising for efficient catalytic activities. Here, three kinds of superlattices from alternate restacking of any two of the three unilamellar nanosheets of MoS₂, NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH), and graphene are systematically investigated for electrocatalytic water splitting. The MoS₂/NiFe-LDH superlattice exhibits a low overpotential of 210 and 110 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), respectively, superior than MoS₂/graphene and NiFe-LDH/graphene superlattices. High activity and stability toward the overall water splitting are also demonstrated on the MoS₂/NiFe-LDH superlattice bifunctional electrocatalyst, outperforming the commercial Pt/C-RuO₂ couple. This outstanding performance can be attributed to optimal adsorption energies of both HER and OER intermediates on the MoS₂/NiFe-LDH superlattice, which originates from a strong electronic coupling effect at the heterointerfaces. These results herald the interface modulation of superlattices providing a promising approach for designing advanced electrocatalysts.

Keywords: Interface modulation; overall water splitting; superlattices; unilamellar nanosheets.