Single Nanoflake Photoelectrochemistry Reveals Intrananoflake Doping Heterogeneity That Explains Ensemble-Level Photoelectrochemical Behavior

Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) nanoflake thin films are attractive electrode materials for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar energy conversion and sensing applications, but their photocurrent quantum yields are generally lower than those of bulk TMD electrodes. The poor PEC performance has been primarily attributed to enhanced charge carrier recombination at exposed defect and edge sites introduced by the exfoliation process. Here, a single nanoflake PEC approach reveals how an alternative effect, doping heterogeneity, limits ensemble-level PEC performance. Photocurrent mapping and local photocurrent-potential (i-E) measurements of MoS2 nanoflakes exfoliated from naturally occurring bulk crystals revealed the presence of n- and p-type domains within the same nanoflake. Interestingly, the n- and p-type domains in the natural MoS2 nanoflakes were equally efficient for iodide oxidation and tri-iodide reduction (IQE values exceed 80%). At the single domain-level, the natural MoS2 nanoflakes were nearly as efficient as nanoflakes exfoliated from synthetic n-type MoS2 crystals. Single domain-level i-E measurements explain why natural MoS2 nanoflakes exhibit an n-type to p-type photocurrent switching effect in ensemble-level measurements: the n- and p-type diode currents from individual domains oppose each other upon illuminating the entire nanoflake, resulting in zero photocurrent at the switching potential. The doping heterogeneity effect is likely due to nonideal stoichiometry, where p-type domains are S-rich according to XPS measurements. Although this doping heterogeneity effect limits photoanode or photocathode performance, these findings open the possibility to synthesize efficient TMD nanoflake photocatalysts with well-defined lateral p- and n-type domains for enhanced charge separation.

Automated summary

This study reveals the limiting effect of doping heterogeneity on the photoelectrochemical performance of TMD nanoflake and demonstrates the equal efficiency of n-type and p-type regions in natural MoS2 nanoflakes. The findings open up the possibility of synthesizing efficient TMD nanoflake photocatalysts with well-defined lateral p- and n-type domains.