Mixed 3D/2D dimensional TiO2 nanoflowers/MoSe2 nanosheets for enhanced photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

Recently, various kinds of methods have been implemented to broaden the visible light response and fasten the carrier's separation of TiO2-based photoanodes. As a promising hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst, MoSe2 is rarely investigated especially combined with TiO2 photoanode. In this study, we report a composite photoanode of MoSe2 nanosheets (with 1T and 2H phase)-modified 3D TiO2 nanoflowers (NFs). The hybrid of 3D TiO2 NFs/2D MoSe2 holds great promise in boosting the PEC water splitting performance. TiO2 NFs/MoSe2-15 showed the largest photocurrent density of 1.40 mA/cm(2), which was five times higher than that of pure TiO2 NFs under AM1.5G illumination. Moreover 10 times improvement in current density was observed for the TiO2 NFs/MoSe2-15 under visible light. This increase could be ascribed to synergistic effects of light absorption enhancement and more efficient carrier separation after MoSe2 modification. This study not only provides a reference to boost the photoelectrochemical performance of photoelectrodes but also renders a perspective on the potential applications of MoSe2 nanosheets.