Distorted 1T-ReS₂ Nanosheets Anchored on Porous TiO₂ Nanofibers for Highly Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Recently, loading TiO2 with transition-metal disulfides (TMDs) to construct dual functional heterostructures has been widely researched as an effective strategy to improve the photocatalytic performance of a TiO2 photocatalyst. For the TMD cocatalysts, the 2H-MoS2 and 1T-MoS2 have been widely studied and researched. However, they suffer from poor catalytic activity sites/low charge transfer ability and an unstable structure. In this regard, distorted 1T-phase TMDs with a stable structure are greatly fit for the cocatalyst due to their high charge transfer ability and rich catalytic sites on both the edge and basal plane. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop distorted 1T-phase TMD/TiO2 heterostructures with well-identified interfaces for highly enhanced photocatalytic performance. Herein, we first introduce distorted 1T-ReS2 anchored on porous TiO2 nanofibers as a promising photocatalyst for achieving an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production. The excellent performance is attributed to the strong chemical interaction of the Ti–O–Re bond between TiO2 and ReS2, the excellent electron mobility of distorted 1T-ReS2, and the abundant catalytic activity sites on both the plane and edge of the ReS2 cocatalyst.