Revisiting the Chemical Stability of Germanium Selenide (GeSe) and the Origin of its Photocatalytic Efficiency
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11320%2F21%3A10440150" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11320/21:10440150 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=jm2U1mro0t" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=jm2U1mro0t</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202106228" target="_blank" >10.1002/adfm.202106228</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Revisiting the Chemical Stability of Germanium Selenide (GeSe) and the Origin of its Photocatalytic Efficiency
Original language description
Recently, germanium selenide (GeSe) has emerged as a promising van der Waals semiconductor for photovoltaics, solar light harvesting, and water photoelectrolysis cells. Contrary to previous reports claiming perfect ambient stability based on experiments with techniques without surface sensitivity, here, by means of surface-science investigations and density functional theory, it is demonstrated that actually both: i) the surface of bulk crystals; and ii) atomically thin flakes of GeSe are prone to oxidation, with the formation of self-assembled germanium-oxide skin with sub-nanometric thickness. Surface oxidation leads to the decrease of the bandgap of stoichiometric GeSe and GeSe1-x, while bandgap energy increases upon surface oxidation of Ge1-xSe. Remarkably, the formation of a surface oxide skin on GeSe crystals plays a key role in the physicochemical mechanisms ruling photoelectrocatalysis: the underlying van der Waals semiconductor provides electron-hole pairs, while the germanium-oxide skin formed upon oxidation affords the active sites for catalytic reactions. The self-assembled germanium-oxide/germanium-selenide heterostructure with different bandgaps enables the activation of photocatalytic processes by absorption of light of different wavelengths, with inherently superior activity. Finally, it is discovered that, depending on the specific solvent-GeSe interaction, the liquid phase exfoliation of bulk crystals can induce the formation of Se nanowires.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10305 - Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics)
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/LM2018116" target="_blank" >LM2018116: Surface Physics Laboratory - Materials Science Beamline</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2021
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Advanced Functional Materials
ISSN
1616-301X
e-ISSN
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Volume of the periodical
31
Issue of the periodical within the volume
50
Country of publishing house
DE - GERMANY
Number of pages
13
Pages from-to
2106228
UT code for WoS article
000696479300001
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-85114918221