Few-layer Antimonene Nanosheet: a Metal-free Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Effective Water Splitting

Two-dimensional (2D) material with thickness down to atomically state is regarded to expose more active sites and achieve much higher catalytic efficiency than its bulk counterpart. Recent investigated semi-metallic antimony (Sb) demonstrates high charge carrier density and environmental stability towards prospective electrocatalytic performance. In this work, we adopt a favorable liquid exfoliation approach to produce few-layer antimonene and implement it as a metal-free electrocatalyst for water splitting. Few-layer antimonene nanosheets have been realized with preferable bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in association with structural robustness, meanwhile the catalytic performance and charge transfer behavior of an integrated three-electrode system has also been uncovered. In addition to bifunctional catalytic ability, few-layer antimonene shows low catalytic threshold because of the inherent characteristics derive from semi-metallic layered materials. It is further anticipated that the present w...