Mechanically Induced Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution from Water over Piezoelectric SnSe nanosheets

Piezoelectric nanomaterials open new avenues in driving green catalysis processes (e.g., H-2 evolution from water) through harvesting mechanical energy, but their catalytic efficiency is still limited. The predicted enormous piezoelectricity for 2D SnSe, together with its high charge mobility and excellent flexibility, renders it an ideal candidate for stimulating piezocatalysis redox reactions. In this work, few-layer piezoelectric SnSe nanosheets (NSs) are utilized for mechanically induced H-2 evolution from water. The finite elemental method simulation demonstrates an unprecedent maximal piezoelectric potential of 44.1 V for a single SnSe NS under a pressure of 100 MPa. A record-breaking piezocurrent density of 0.3 mA cm(-2) is obtained for SnSe NSs-based electrode under ultrasonic excitation (100 W, 45 kHz), which is about three orders of magnitude greater than that of reported piezocatalysts. Moreover, an exceptional H-2 production rate of 948.4 mu mol g(-1) h(-1) is achieved over the SnSe NSs without any cocatalyst, far exceeding most of the reported piezocatalysts and competitive with the current photocatalysis technology. The findings not only enrich the potential piezocatalysis materials, but also provide useful guidance toward high-efficiency mechanically driven chemical reactions such as H-2 evolution from water.

Automated summary

Piezoelectric SnSe nanomaterials show great potential in driving green catalysis processes, such as H-2 evolution, through mechanical energy. These materials exhibit exceptional piezoelectricity, high charge mobility, and flexibility, making them ideal for stimulating piezocatalysis reactions.