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Interface Engineering of MoS 2 ‐Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nano‐photocatalysts for an Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Author(s) -
Koutsouroubi Eirini D.,
Vamvasakis Ioannis,
Papadas Ioannis T.,
Drivas Charalampos,
Choulis Stelios A.,
Kennou Stella,
Armatas Gerasimos S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chempluschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.801
H-Index - 61
ISSN - 2192-6506
DOI - 10.1002/cplu.202000096
Subject(s) - heterojunction , materials science , graphitic carbon nitride , photocatalysis , photoluminescence , nanosheet , carbon nitride , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , hydrogen production , electrochemistry , optoelectronics , catalysis , chemistry , electrode , biochemistry , engineering
Understanding of photochemical charge transfer processes at nanoscale heterojunctions is essential in developing effective catalysts. Here, we utilize a controllable synthesis method and a combination of optical absorption, photoluminescence, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic studies to investigate the effect of MoS 2 nanosheet lateral dimension and edge length size on the photochemical behavior of MoS 2 ‐modified graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C 3 N 4 ) heterojunctions. These nano‐heterostructures, which comprise interlayer junctions with variable area (i. e., MoS 2 lateral size ranges from 18 nm to 52 nm), provide a size‐tunable interfacial charge transfer through the MoS 2 /g‐C 3 N 4 contacts, while exposing a large fraction of surface MoS 2 edge sites available for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Importantly, modification of g‐C 3 N 4 with MoS 2 layers of 39±5 nm lateral size (20 wt % loading) creates interfacial contacts with relatively large number of MoS 2 edge sites and efficient electronic transport phenomena, yielding a high photocatalytic H 2 ‐production activity of 1497 μmol h −1 g cat −1 and an apparent QY of 3.3 % at 410 nm light irradiation. This study thus offers a design strategy to improve light energy conversion efficiency of catalysts by engineering interfaces at the nanoscale in 2D‐layered heterojunction materials.