Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrolysis Performance of Chiral Molecule Loaded Titanium Disulfide Nanosheets

• Published in: Chemphyschem 2022-06, Vol.23 (12), p.e202200156-n/a
• Main Authors: Bai, Xuesong, Cao, Yang, Xu, Yueshan, Huang, Wei, Deng, Peilin, Tian, Xinlong, Liu, Zhongxin, Wang, Jieqiong, Tu, Jinchun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Byproducts; chiral induced spin selectivity; Coated electrodes; Current density; Decomposition; Electron spin; High current; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen production; Nanosheets; photoelectrochemical; photothermal effects; Selectivity; Sulfur compounds; Titanium; titanium disulfide nanosheets; water decomposition
• ISSN: 1439-4235; 1439-7641
• DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202200156

The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water decomposition is a promising method to produce hydrogen from water. To improve the water decomposition efficiency of the PEC process, it is necessary to inhibit the generation of H2O2 byproducts and reduce the overpotential required by cheap catalysts and a high current density. Studies have shown that coating the electrode with chiral molecules or chiral films can increase the hydrogen production and reduce the generation of H2O2 byproducts. This is interpreted as the result of a chiral induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, which induces a spin correlation between the electrons that are transferred to the anode. Here, we report the adsorption of chiral molecules onto titanium disulfide nanosheets. Firstly, titanium disulfide nanosheets were synthesized via thermal injection and then dispersed through ultrasonic crushing. This strategy combines the CISS with the plasma effect caused by the narrow bandgap of two‐dimensional sulfur compounds to promote the PEC water decomposition with a high current density. Photocatalytic water decomposition to produce hydrogen is a promising method but problems such as low current density and electrode stability still exists. In this work, two‐dimensional sulfur compounds are loaded with chiral molecules to improve the photocatalytic performance and current density by controlling the direction of electron spin using the chirality induced spin selectivity.