Generalized Synthetic Strategy for Amorphous Transition Metal Oxides-Based 2D Heterojunctions with Superb Photocatalytic Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution

2D amorphous transition metal oxides (a-TMOs) heterojunctions that have the synergistic effects of interface (efficiently promoting the separation of electron-hole pairs) and amorphous nature (abundant defects and dangling bonds) have attracted substantial interest as compelling photocatalysts for solar energy conversion. Strategies to facilely construct a-TMOs-based 2D/2D heterojunctions is still a big challenge due to the difficulty of preparing individual amorphous counterparts. A generalized synthesis strategy based on supramolecular self-assembly for bottom-up growth of a-TMOs-based 2D heterojunctions is reported, by taking 2D/2D g-C3N4 (CN)/a-TMOs heterojunction as a proof-of-concept. This strategy primarily depends on controlling the cooperation of the growth of supramolecular precursor and the coordinated covalent bonds arising from the tendency of metal ions to attain the stable configuration of electrons, which is independent on the intrinsic character of individual metal ion, indicating it is universally applicable. As a demonstration, the structure, physical properties, and photocatalytic water-splitting performance of CN/a-ZnO heterojunction are systematically studied. The optimized 2D/2D CN/a-ZnO exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance, the hydrogen (432.6 mu mol h(-1) g(-1)) and oxygen (532.4 mu mol h(-1) g(-1)) evolution rate are 15.5 and 12.2 times than bulk CN, respectively. This synthetic strategy is useful to construct 2D a-TMOs nanomaterials for applications in energy-related areas and beyond.

Automated summary

A generalized synthesis strategy based on supramolecular self-assembly for constructing a-TMOs-based 2D heterojunctions has been developed, demonstrating enhanced photocatalytic performance for energy conversion applications.