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Vol. 12 (2020)

Plasmonic Ag-Decorated Few-Layer MoS2 Nanosheets Vertically Grown on Graphene for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00512-3
Dong‑Bum Seo
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Tran Nam Trung
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Dong‑Ok Kim
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Duong Viet Duc
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Sungmin Hong
Department of Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Youngku Sohn
Department of Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Jong‑Ryul Jeong
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Eui‑Tae Kim
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author: Eui‑Tae Kim

etkim@cnu.ac.kr

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 12 (2020), Article Number: 172

Abstract

A controllable approach that combines surface plasmon resonance and two-dimensional (2D) graphene/MoS2 heterojunction has not been implemented despite its potential for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this study, plasmonic Ag-decorated 2D MoS2 nanosheets were vertically grown on graphene substrates in a practical large-scale manner through metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of MoS2 and thermal evaporation of Ag. The plasmonic Ag-decorated MoS2 nanosheets on graphene yielded up to 10 times higher photo-to-dark current ratio than MoS2 nanosheets on indium tin oxide. The significantly enhanced PEC activity could be attributed to the synergetic effects of SPR and favorable graphene/2D MoS2 heterojunction. Plasmonic Ag nanoparticles not only increased visible-light and near-infrared absorption of 2D MoS2, but also induced highly amplified local electric field intensity in 2D MoS2. In addition, the vertically aligned 2D MoS2 on graphene acted as a desirable heterostructure for efficient separation and transportation of photo-generated carriers. This study provides a promising path for exploiting the full potential of 2D MoS2 for practical large-scale and efficient PEC water-splitting applications.


Highlights：


1 Controllable and large-scale practical growth of plasmonic Ag-decorated vertically aligned 2D MoS2 nanosheets on graphene.
2 Realization of the synergistic effects of surface plasmon resonance and favorable graphene/MoS2 heterojunction to enhance the photoelectrochemical reactivity of 2D MoS2.

Keywords

Photoelectrocatalysis Molybdenum disulfide Graphene Surface plasmon resonance
Seo, Dong‑Bum, Tran Nam Trung, Dong‑Ok Kim, Duong Viet Duc, Sungmin Hong, Youngku Sohn, Jong‑Ryul Jeong, and Eui‑Tae Kim. 2020. “Plasmonic Ag-Decorated Few-Layer MoS2 Nanosheets Vertically Grown on Graphene for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting”. Nano-Micro Letters 12 (August):172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00512-3.
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