Layered Nanojunctions for Hydrogen-revolution Catalysis

The H₂ production performance of mpg-CN under visible light is significantly improved by growing thin layers of MoS₂ on mpg-CN. The 0.5 wt% MoS₂/mpg-CN performs better than 0.5 wt% Pt/mpg-CN under identical reaction conditions. The geometric similarity in the layered structures of MoS₂ and g-CN, together with the mesoporous structure of mpg-CN facilitates the planar growth of MoS₂ over the mpg-CN surface and the formation of the thin, planar MoS₂/mpg-CN interface; these characteristics are believed to promote the photoactivity of MoS₂/mpg-CN. We found that other layered transition metal dichalcogenides such as WS₂ are also efficient promoters for hydrogen production over gCN. Herein we have presented not only an example of a catalyst made of abundant C, N, Mo and S elements for efficient H₂ photosynthesis, but also a conceptual advance to rationally design and fabricate a thin, effective interfacial 2D junctions between co-catalysts and semiconductors that have similar layered geometric structures.