High electron transfer of TiO₂ nanorod@carbon layer supported flower-like WS₂ nanosheets for triiodide electrocatalytic reduction

Abstract

WS2-based nanomaterials have been extensively studied due to their unique catalytic properties. However, it is still a great challenge to prepare WS2-based electrocatalysts with both maximally active edge sites exposure and high electronic conductivity. In this work, we have engineered a 1D-2D multidimensional nanostructured TiO2 nanorod@carbon layer supported flower-like WS2 nanosheets (TNRs@C@WS2) electrocatalyst with abundant exposed active edge sites as well as high electron transfer abilities. The TNRs@C@WS2 was explored as a good catalyst for the triiodide reduction reaction. The assembled dye-sensitized solar cell achieves a high photoelectric conversion efficiency (7.15%) and comparable to that (7.18%) of Pt. This unique 1D-2D multidimensional nanostructure may open up new opportunities for a variety of applications in clean energy and catalysis.