0D-2D Quantum Dot: Metal Dichalcogenide Nanocomposite Photocatalyst Achieves Efficient Hydrogen Generation

Xiao-Yuan Liu; Hao Chen; Ruili Wang; Yuequn Shang; Qiong Zhang; Wei Li; Guozhen Zhang; Juan Su; Cao Thang Dinh; F Pelayo García de Arquer; Jie Li; Jun Jiang; Qixi Mi; Rui Si; Xiaopeng Li; Yuhan Sun; Yi-Tao Long; He Tian; Edward H Sargent; Zhijun Ning

doi:10.1002/adma.201605646

0D-2D Quantum Dot: Metal Dichalcogenide Nanocomposite Photocatalyst Achieves Efficient Hydrogen Generation

Adv Mater. 2017 Jun;29(22). doi: 10.1002/adma.201605646. Epub 2017 Apr 11.

Authors

Xiao-Yuan Liu^{1

2}, Hao Chen^{1

3

4}, Ruili Wang^{1

3

4}, Yuequn Shang^{1

3

4}, Qiong Zhang¹, Wei Li⁵, Guozhen Zhang⁶, Juan Su¹, Cao Thang Dinh⁷, F Pelayo García de Arquer⁷, Jie Li⁷, Jun Jiang⁶, Qixi Mi¹, Rui Si⁵, Xiaopeng Li⁸, Yuhan Sun⁸, Yi-Tao Long², He Tian², Edward H Sargent⁷, Zhijun Ning¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, 201210, P. R. China.
² Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, P. R. China.
³ Shanghai Institute of Ceramic, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, 200050, P. R. China.
⁴ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China.
⁵ Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy Science, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai, 201204, P. R. China.
⁶ School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials (LMBD), University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei, 230026, P. R. China.
⁷ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4, Canada.
⁸ CAS Key Laboratory of Low-Carbon Conversion Science and Engineering, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (SARI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, 201210, P. R. China.

PMID: 28397299
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201605646

Abstract

Hydrogen generation via photocatalysis-driven water splitting provides a convenient approach to turn solar energy into chemical fuel. The development of photocatalysis system that can effectively harvest visible light for hydrogen generation is an essential task in order to utilize this technology. Herein, a kind of cadmium free Zn-Ag-In-S (ZAIS) colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) that shows remarkably photocatalytic efficiency in the visible region is developed. More importantly, a nanocomposite based on the combination of 0D ZAIS CQDs and 2D MoS₂ nanosheet is developed. This can leverage the strong light harvesting capability of CQDs and catalytic performance of MoS₂ simultaneously. As a result, an excellent external quantum efficiency of 40.8% at 400 nm is achieved for CQD-based hydrogen generation catalyst. This work presents a new platform for the development of high-efficiency photocatalyst based on 0D-2D nanocomposite.

Keywords: 0D-2D nanocomposites; MoS2 nanosheets; hydrogen generation; photocatalysis; quantum dots.