Graphene analogues of TaS2 and TiS2 (3-4 layers), prepared by Li intercalation followed by exfoliation in water, were characterized. Nanocomposites of CdS with few-layer TiS2 and TaS2 were employed for the visible-light-induced H2 evolution reaction (HER). Benzyl alcohol was used as the sacrificial electron donor, which was oxidized to benzaldehyde during the reaction. Few-layer TiS2 is a semiconductor with a band gap of 0.7 eV, and its nanocomposite with CdS showed an activity of 1000 μmol h(-1) g(-1). The nanocomposite of few-layer TaS2, in contrast, gave rise to higher activity of 2320 μmol h(-1) g(-1), which was attributed to the metallic nature of few-layer TaS2. The amount of hydrogen evolved after 20 and 16 h for the CdS/TiS2 and CdS/TaS2 nanocomposites was 14,833 and 28,132 μmol, respectively, with turnover frequencies of 0.24 and 0.57 h(-1), respectively.
Cathodic reduction of aqueous metal nitrate solutions leads to the deposition of micrometer-thick coatings of metal hydroxides. Heat treatment of the green hydroxide deposits results in the formation of adherent oxide coatings. The synthesis of a number of oxides such as MgO, Co 3 O 4 , and RE 2 O 3 (RE 5 Y, Dy, and Eu) is reported. These oxides as well as their hydroxide precursors belong to different structure types, showing that electrochemical deposition is a general method of fabrication of oxide coatings. The distinctive feature of all the precursor coatings is that they are macroporous, with the pore size in the micrometer range. The pores arise from the truncation of lamellar crystallites. The porosity is morphological rather than structural and is caused by aggressive gas evolution that takes place simultaneously with the deposition process at the cathode. The oxide coatings obtained by the thermal decomposition of the hydroxide precursors are also macroporous. The porosity is conserved as the pore size is larger than the diffusion length at the decomposition temperature.
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