In-Plane Axially Enhanced Photocatalysis by Re4 Diamond Chains in Layered ReS2

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors play a crucial role in high-efficiency photocatalysts because of their high surface-to-volume ratio. The surface property is a key part of photocatalysis. In this work, the enhanced photocatalytic behavior of the layered ReS2 with optical polarization along the Re4 nano-diamond-chain (DC) direction (b axis) has been demonstrated. The unpolarized photoconductivity (PC) response of ReS2 with an applied bias along the b axis is approximately 1 order higher than that of the applied bias perpendicular to the b axis. The polarization-dependent PC spectra of E ∥ b also reveal a higher photoresponsivity with respect to those measured along the E ⊥ b polarization for the layered ReS2. This result indicates that stronger polarization dipoles as well as a larger amount of photogenerated carriers and surface states can contribute to the C-plane ReS2 under the illumination of E ∥ b polarized photons. With the special axial effect, the layered ReS2 2D photocatalyst shows much faster ...