Structural Engineering of Ultrathin ReS2 on Hierarchically Architectured Graphene for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction

Herein, binary heteronanosheets made of ultrathin ReS2 nanosheets and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with either a two-dimensional (2D) sheet-on-sheet architecture (2D ReS2/RGO) or a three-dimensional hierarchical structure (3D ReS2/RGO) are constructed through rational structure-engineering strategies. In the resultant 3D ReS2/RGO heteronanosheets, the ultrathin ReS2 nanosheets are bridged on the RGO surface through Re-O bonds in a vertically oriented manner, which endows the heteronanosheets with open frameworks and a hierarchical porous structure. In sharp contrast to the 2D ReS2/RGO, the 3D ReS2/RGO heteronanosheets are featured with abundant active sites and channels for efficient electrolyte ions transport. This, coupled with the strong affinity toward oxygen-containing intermediates intrinsically associated with the binary ReS2/RGO structure, imparts excellent oxygen reduction performance to the 3D ReS2/RGO heteronanosheets for potential applications in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

Automated summary

Binary heteronanosheets composed of ultrathin ReS2 nanosheets and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were constructed with either a two-dimensional or three-dimensional structure. The 3D ReS2/RGO heteronanosheets exhibited abundant active sites and channels for efficient electrolyte ions transport, along with excellent oxygen reduction performance due to strong affinity toward oxygen-containing intermediates. These features make them promising for applications in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.