ScSeI Monolayer for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

We theoretically identify the ScSeI monolayer as a promising new 2D material for photocatalysis through first-principles calculations. The most notable feature is the significant difference in carrier mobility, with electron mobility in the horizontal direction being 20.66 times higher than hole mobility, minimizing electron-hole recombination. The ScSeI monolayer exhibits a bandgap of 2.51 eV, with the valence band maximum at -6.37 eV and the conduction band minimum at -3.86 eV, meeting the requirements for water splitting. Phosphorus doping lowers the Gibbs free energy by 1.63 eV, enhancing the catalytic activity. The ScSeI monolayer achieves a hydrogen production efficiency of 17%, surpassing the commercial threshold of 10% and shows excellent mechanical, thermal, and dynamic stability, indicating feasibility for experimental synthesis and practical application. Additionally, the monolayer maintains its photocatalytic properties under tensile strain (-6% to 6%) and in aqueous environments, reinforcing its potential as an effective photocatalyst. Based on these findings, we believe the ScSeI monolayer is a highly promising photocatalyst.

Steering the Charge Kinetics in Dual-Functional Photocatalysis by Surface Dipole Moments and Band Edge Modulation: A Defect Study in TiO2-ZnS-rGO Composites

Developing an efficient photocatalyst for concurrent hydrogen production and environmental remediation by using solar energy is a challenge. Defect engineering, although it offers a strategical promise to enhance the photocatalytic performance, has limitations that come from the ambiguity surrounding its role. In the current work, a comprehensive study on defects in promoting the charge transfer, band edge modulation, and surface reaction was carried out. The excess electrons springing from defects act like donor states and cause band bending at the junction interface. Characterization techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, and photoluminescence were employed to investigate defect functionality, and its ultimate effect on photocatalytic performance was studied by simultaneous H₂ production and methylene blue degradation. The role of graphene in optoelectronics and defect formation in the composite catalysts was explored. In addition, efforts have been made to unveil the reaction pathway for hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction where excess defect density greatly hampered the quantum yield of the process. Results suggest that maintaining optimal defect concentration aborts the undesired thermodynamically favored back reactions. The conduction band and valence band values of the catalysts indicate that the photocatalytic mechanism was dominated by the electron pathway. Graphene acted as an effective electron sink when its concentration was around 2.5-3%. The superior activity of TiO₂-ZnS-rGO was attributed to the narrow bandgap, rapid separation of photo-excited charge carriers, and favorable conduction band position for photocatalytic reactions. This work may assist in exploring the fundamental role of defects in driving the photocatalytic reactions and improve the selectivity in heterogeneous photocatalysis.

Interaction of H2O with (CuS)n, (Cu2S)n, and (ZnS)n small clusters (n = 1-4, 6): relation to the aggregation characteristics of metal sulfides at aqueous solutions

The interaction of H₂O onto small CuS, Cu₂S, and ZnS clusters was theoretically studied by Density Functional Theory computations to get insights into the aggregation characteristics of metal sulfides at aqueous solutions. The results show the charge-controlled interactions with polarized solvent molecules are favored on the ZnS clusters compared with CuS and Cu₂S clusters. Moreover, the chemical adsorption of H₂O molecules is energetically favored onto ZnS clusters with higher interaction energies of up to 35.4 kcal/mol compared with CuS and Cu₂S clusters (up to 31.3 kcal/mol), where the stability of H₂O adsorption decreases as the size of the clusters increases. However, thermochemical analysis shows that the adsorption of H₂O on copper sulfides is not a spontaneous process at room temperature. Additionally, the electrostatic energy of H₂O onto the Cu₂S and CuS clusters is lower than that associated with the H₂O-H₂O interactions, suggesting that copper precipitates prefer to bind between them at early stages of the precipitation process due to an unfavorable solvent-solute interaction. Dispersion forces play a relative key role in the interaction of water on copper sulfides, while for zinc sulfide clusters, the adsorption energy is slightly influenced by dispersion contributions. Accordingly, the aggregation of zinc sulfides in a water environment is expected to be lower compared with copper sulfides, and where the aggregation characteristics are not determined by the binding energy of the sulfides, but of the ability to interact with the solvent molecules. These statements were confirmed by experimental optical microscopy analysis and settling tests during precipitation processes in water. Therefore, this work allows proposing a simple strategy to study the aggregation characteristics of metal sulfides, which turns useful for use in hydrometallurgical applications.

Graphene and novel graphitic ZnO and ZnS nanofilms: the energy landscape, non-stoichiometry and water dissociation

The energy landscapes of ultra-thin nanofilms of ZnO and ZnS are examined in detail using periodic hybrid density functional calculations. We predict new staggered graphitic forms, which are stable only for the thinnest films and are of particular interest as the electronic structure shows a spontaneous symmetry breaking across the film and consequently a marked decrease in band gap with thickness. The relative energies of the various forms, their structural and electronic properties and their variation with film thickness are discussed. Possible kinetic pathways for transitions from the graphitic forms are examined by explicit evaluation of transition state energies. For polar surfaces, such as (0001) würtzite and (111) zinc blende, many different mechanisms operate to remove or reduce the surface dipole depending on the number of layers in the nanofilm. The polar ZnS nanofilms, but not the polar ZnO analogues or any non-polar film, are predicted to spontaneously become non-stoichiometric by loss of zinc atoms from the surface. The behaviour of adsorbed water on the ultra-thin films is also examined. There is no dissociation on any ZnS film. For ZnO, dissociation into OH^- and H⁺ takes place not only on (101̄0) würtzite, but also on (110) zinc blende. This result that does not appear to have been reported previously and deserves future experimental study. While we concentrate on ZnO and ZnS, similar energy landscapes are expected for any oxide or sulphide which adopts the würtzite or zinc blende structure in the bulk.

Recent advances in metal sulfides: from controlled fabrication to electrocatalytic, photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting and beyond

This review describes an in-depth overview and knowledge on the variety of synthetic strategies for forming metal sulfides and their potential use to achieve effective hydrogen generation and beyond.

Facile fabrication of porous ZnS nanostructures with a controlled amount of S vacancies for enhanced photocatalytic performances

ZnS nanostructures of barbell-shaped porous and hollow nanoplates with a controlled amount of S vacancies have been facilely fabricated via the hydrothermal treatment of ZnS(en)_0.5 (en = ethylenediamine) nanoplates. The amount of S vacancies as well as the morphologies of ZnS nanostructures have been controlled by adjusting the hydrolysis time; the layered structure of ZnS(en)_0.5 nanoplates decomposes to yield discrete ZnS nanoparticles at two end facets of template nanoplates, producing barbell-shaped porous and hollow ZnS nanoplates with abundant S vacancies finally. The photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanostructures prepared via hydrolysis for 4 h is 8.2 times higher than that of commercial ZnS. The photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanostructures increases with the increase of emission at 390 nm arising from sulfur vacancies, suggesting that the high photocatalytic efficiency of ZnS nanostructures results mainly from the high amount of sulfur vacancies. Surface defects such as sulfur vacancies can trap photogenerated electrons to block the recombination of charges, enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of the as-prepared ZnS nanostructures. It has also been found that both ˙OH and ˙O₂^- act as the major reactive species in the photocatalytic decomposition of rhodamine B via our prepared ZnS nanostructures. Barbell-shaped porous and hollow ZnS nanoplates are suggested to have great applicability to photocatalysts in waste-water treatment.

Real-time atomic scale observation of void formation and anisotropic growth in II-VI semiconducting ribbons

Void formation in semiconductors is generally considered to be deteriorating. However, for some systems, void formation and evolution are beneficial and can be used for the fabrication of novel nanostructures. In either scenario, the understanding of void formation and evolution is of both scientific and technical high importance. Herein, using ZnS ribbons as an example, we report real-time observations of void formation and the kinetics of growth at the nano- and atomic scales upon heating. Direct imaging reveals that voids, created by a focused electron beam in wurtzite (WZ) ribbons, have a rectangular shape elongated along the <0001> direction. The voids are enclosed by low-surface-energy planes including {01-10} and {2-1-10}, with minor contribution from the higher-energy {0001} planes. Driven by thermodynamics to minimize surface energy, the voids grow straight along the [000±1] directions, exhibiting a strong anisotropy. Occasionally, we observe oscillatory kinetics involving periodic void growth and shrinkage, likely due to the fluctuation of the local chemical potential leading to a transitional kinetic state. We also reveal that the morphology and growth kinetics of voids are highly structure-dependent. Real-time observation during void growth through the complex WZ-zinc blende (ZB)-WZ structure shows that the void, with an initial elongated rectangular morphology in the WZ domain, transforms into a different shape, dominated by the {110} surfaces, after migrating to a domain of the ZB structure. However, when the void moves from the ZB to the WZ domain, it transforms back into a rectangular shape followed by fast growth along the [0001] direction. Our experimental results, together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, provide valuable insights into the mechanistic understanding of void formation and evolution in semiconductors. More importantly, our study may shed light on new pathways for the morphological modulation of nanostructures by utilizing the intrinsic anisotropy of void evolution in WZ semiconductors.

Understanding divergent behaviors in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction on CdS and ZnS: a DFT based study

Pt affects photocatalytic HER on CdS(ZnS) as a compromise of the free energy of H* adsorption and CBM.

Role of Cu+ on ZnS:Cu p-type semiconductor films grown by sputtering: influence of substitutional Cu in the structural, optical and electronic properties

ZnS:Cu films were synthetized by co-sputtering. A Cu content higher than 10.6 at% lead to changes as the shrinkage of the ZnS:Cu cell and development of a p-type behavior. These results are explained by the substitution of Zn⁺² ions by Cu⁺ ones.