SnS2Nanoplates with Specific Facets Exposed for Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysis

A synergistic heterojunction of SnS2/SnSSe nanosheets on GaN for advanced self-powered photodetectors

Tin-based TMDCs are gaining traction in optoelectronics due to their eco-friendliness and easy synthesis, contrasting Mo/W-based counterparts. This study pioneers the solvothermal synthesis of highly crystalline SnSSe alloy, akin to Janus structures, bridging a notable research gap. By integrating SnS2/SnSSe materials onto a GaN platform, a synergistic heterojunction is created, enhancing light absorption and the electron-hole pair separation efficiency, demonstrating a self-powered photodetection. The GaN/SnS2/SnSSe heterojunction showcases a staircase-like (type-II) band alignment and exceptional performance metrics: high photoresponsivity of 314.96 A W-1, specific detectivity of 2.0 × 1014 jones, and external quantum efficiency of 10.7 × 104% under 365 nm illumination at 150 nW cm-2 intensity and 3 V bias. Notably, the device displays intensity-dependent photocurrent and photoswitching behaviors without external bias, highlighting its unique self-powered attributes. This study underscores SnS2's significance in optoelectronics and explores SnSSe integration into van der Waals heterostructures, promising advanced photodetection devices and bias-free optoelectronics.

Self-powered, ultrasensitive, room temperature humidity sensors using SnS2 nanofilms

Humidity monitoring has become extremely vital in various technological fields such as environment control, biomedical engineering, and so on. Therefore, a substantial interest lies in the development of fast and highly sensitive devices with high figures of merit. Self-powered and ultrasensitive humidity sensors based on SnS2 nanofilms of different film thicknesses have been demonstrated in this work. The sensing behavior has been investigated in the relative humidity (RH) range of 2-99%. The observed results reveal a remarkable response and ultrafast detection even with zero applied bias (self-powered mode), with response and recovery times of ~ 10 and ~ 0.7 s, respectively. The self-powered behavior has been attributed to the inhomogeneities and the asymmetry in the contact electrodes. The highest sensitivity of ~ 5.64 × 106% can be achieved at an applied bias of 5 V. This approach of fabricating such highly responsive, self-powered and ultrafast sensors with simple device architectures will be useful for designing futuristic sensing devices.

TiO2 Nanosheet Arrays with Layered SnS2 and CoOx Nanoparticles for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Converting solar energy into sustainable hydrogen fuel by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising technology to solve increasingly serious global energy supply and environmental issues. However, the PEC performance based on TiO2 nanomaterials is hindered by the limited sunlight-harvesting ability and its high recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers. In this work, layered SnS2 absorbers and CoOx nanoparticles decorated two-dimensional (2D) TiO2 nanosheet array photoelectrode have been rationally designed and successfully synthesized, which remarkably enhanced the PEC performance for water splitting. As the result, photoconversion efficiency of TiO2/SnS2/CoOx and TiO2/SnS2 hybrid photoanodes increases by 3.6 and 2.0 times under simulated sunlight illumination, compared with the bare TiO2 nanosheet arrays photoanode. Furthermore, the TiO2/SnS2/CoOx photoanode also presented higher PEC stability owing to CoOx catalyst served as efficient water oxidation catalyst as well as an effective protectant for preventing absorber photocorrosion.

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production: Role of Sacrificial Reagents on the Activity of Oxide, Carbon, and Sulfide Catalysts

Photocatalytic water splitting is a sustainable technology for the production of clean fuel in terms of hydrogen (H2). In the present study, hydrogen (H2) production efficiency of three promising photocatalysts (titania (TiO2-P25), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and cadmium sulfide (CdS)) was evaluated in detail using various sacrificial agents. The effect of most commonly used sacrificial agents in the recent years, such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, lactic acid, glucose, sodium sulfide, sodium sulfite, sodium sulfide/sodium sulfite mixture, and triethanolamine, were evaluated on TiO2-P25, g-C3N4, and CdS. H2 production experiments were carried out under simulated solar light irradiation in an immersion type photo-reactor. All the experiments were performed without any noble metal co-catalyst. Moreover, photolysis experiments were executed to study the H2 generation in the absence of a catalyst. The results were discussed specifically in terms of chemical reactions, pH of the reaction medium, hydroxyl groups, alpha hydrogen, and carbon chain length of sacrificial agents. The results revealed that glucose and glycerol are the most suitable sacrificial agents for an oxide photocatalyst. Triethanolamine is the ideal sacrificial agent for carbon and sulfide photocatalyst. A remarkable amount of H2 was produced from the photolysis of sodium sulfide and sodium sulfide/sodium sulfite mixture without any photocatalyst. The findings of this study would be highly beneficial for the selection of sacrificial agents for a particular photocatalyst.