Two-dimensional (2D) materials hold promise for a range of electrochemistry-related applications, including energy storage/conversion and sensing. However, a deep understanding of their electrochemical properties is critical for their successful implementation in these applications. The complex and tunable electronic structure of 2D materials suggests that a much wider landscape of possibilities exists in electrochemical switching, and photocatalysis. We will first discuss the key aspects of 2D materials’ electrochemistry, based on our recent results using a unique microscale electrochemical probe and a range of complementary microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. We will examine whether the electron transfer on graphene and MoS2 is affected by defects, surface ageing, illumination, and applied potential. Furthermore, the strong dependence of the electron transfer and capacitance of monolayer and few-layer MoS2 on the number of layers and illumination intensity, will be revealed and rationalized by the layer-dependent light absorption and charge carrier diffusion. Finally, we will discuss a novel class of naturally occurring stacks of different 2D materials, so-called van der Waals heterostructures, with intriguing electrochemical properties, which could be exploited in supercapacitor energy storage. These findings show that the control of 2D materials’ morphology and the use of external stimuli such as electric field, illumination, and strain, as schematically shown in the figure, lead to a tunable electrochemical response and a wealth of new applications.

Towards tunable electrochemistry of two-dimensional materials

254th National Meeting (2017)

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