Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2026, Vol. 85: 322-332.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(25)64930-8

• Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Achieving near-equilibrium Had adsorption/desorption by introducing asymmetric S-Re-Se modules in a-ReSxSe2-x cocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution

Wei Zhong, Yiyao Gan, Jingtao Wang, Peiyi Yang, Aiyun Meng(), Yaorong Su()   

  1. College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen 518118, Guangdong, China
  • Received:2025-09-21 Accepted:2025-10-19 Online:2026-06-18 Published:2026-05-18
  • Contact: *E-mail: suyaorong@sztu.edu.cn (Y. Su),
    mengaiyun@sztu.edu.cn (A. Meng).
  • About author:

    1Contributed equally to this work.

  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22178224);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22272110);National Natural Science Foundation of China(22402126);Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2023A1515110535);Shenzhen Science and Technology Program(RCBS20231211090522041);Hubei Key Laboratory of Pollutant Analysis & Reuse Technology (Hubei Normal University)(PA240201);Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Applied Technologies of Super-Diamond and Functional Crystals(ZDSYS20230626091303007)

Abstract:

Two-dimensional transition metal sulfides (MS2) are regarded as promising cocatalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production, but the intrinsic symmetric S-M-S module usually causes an improper adsorption/desorption ability of Had on catalytic S atoms. Herein, the symmetry of S-Re-S modules in traditional ReS2 is disrupted by incorporating selenium (Se) atoms, enabling the self-optimized electronic property of active S sites in asymmetric S-Re-Se modules for high performance photocatalytic H2 production. Through a one-step photodeposition process, Se atoms were controllably and uniformly incorporated into a-ReS2 nanoparticles, thereby forming a homogeneous amorphous ReSxSe2-x (a-ReSxSe2-x) cocatalyst on the TiO₂ surface. It is found that incorporating Se atoms into amorphous ReS2 (a-ReS2) structure creates massive asymmetric S-Re-Se modules and induces a steered electron transport from Se to S atoms, thus forming self-optimized electron-rich S(2+δ)- sites in the a-ReSxSe2-x cocatalysts. Furthermore, the electron-rich S(2+δ)- centers interact with Had via a higher antibonding orbital occupancy, enabling a near-equilibrium Had adsorption/desorption energy for the efficient H2 generation. Encouragingly, the photocatalytic H2-production performance of the optimized a-ReS1.2Se0.8/TiO2 photocatalyst outperforms the a-ReS2/TiO2 and a-ReSe2/TiO2 samples by factors of 2.12 and 1.53, respectively. This work constructs new asymmetric active modules to induce self-optimized charge distribution in catalytic atoms, advancing the rational design principle of highly active photocatalysts for sustainable H2 production.

Key words: Hydrogen production, Photocatalysis, Asymmetric active modules, Self-optimized electron structure, a-ReSxSe2-x cocatalysts