Two-dimensional (2D) material with thickness down to the atomic state is regarded as able to expose more active sites and achieve much higher catalytic efficiency than its bulk counterpart. Recent investigated semi-metallic antimony (Sb) demonstrates high charge carrier density and environmental stability toward prospective electrocatalytic performance. In this work, we adopt a favorable liquid exfoliation approach to produce few-layer antimonene and implement it as a metal-free electrocatalyst for water splitting. Few-layer antimonene nanosheets have been realized with preferable bifunctional electrocatalytic activity in association with structural robustness; meanwhile, the catalytic performance and charge transfer behavior of an integrated three-electrode system have also been uncovered. In addition to bifunctional catalytic ability, few-layer antimonene shows a low catalytic threshold because of the inherent characteristics derived from semi-metallic layered materials. It is further anticipated that the present work contributes to extendable investigations about the catalytic performance of antimonene nanosheets and related electrocatalytic devices.

We studied the structures and electronic properties of Janus transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers MXY (M = Mo, W; X ≠ Y = S, Se, Te) by first-principles calculations. The results of the electronic band structures and the density of states reveal that all of the MXY monolayers show semiconducting characteristics. Particular attention has been focused on the bandgap engineering by applying in-plane biaxial compressive and tensile strain. It is observed that the bandgap values of the MXY monolayers decrease with the increase of strain degree under the tension and compression biaxial strain, and a semiconductor-to-metal transition can be undergone at a critical value of strain. The possibility of the tunable energy gap over a wide range makes MXY monolayers potential candidates for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics.

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clean and sustainable strategy to produce O 2. [1] To date, metallic materials, including Pt, Ir, and Ru, are still the most effective electrocatalytic OER materials owing to their excellent carrier mobilities and high catalytic activities. [2] However, from a commercial perspective, the expensive cost of these precious metals has limited their practical application. [3] As a result, there is an urgent need to find low-cost materials and high-performance electrocatalytic OER materials as substitutes for precious metals. With the advent of graphene, 2D materials have gradually appeared in the field of vision and are considered as good candidates for electrocatalytic OER materials due to their excellent electronic properties and catalytic activities. Previous reports have confirmed that 2D materials have excellent electrocatalytic OER properties, such as MoS 2 , [4] WS 2 , [5] and MXenes. [6] Recently, a new singleelement 2D material, black phosphorus (BP), has been successfully synthesized, which has excellent carrier mobility (1000 cm 2 V −1 s −1 at ten-layer thickness [7]) and good catalytic activity. [8] Therefore, it is widely used in the field of catalysis, especially as an electrocatalytic OER material. [9] For instance, Wang and co-workers [10] adopted a simple method to grow BP nanosheets on a carbon nanotube network and showed excellent electrocatalytic OER performance. Although many studies have reported that BP nanosheets have shown good applications in the field of electrocatalytic OER, its high overpotential and limited catalytic activity still needs to be further improved. Therefore, it is crucial to improve the electrocatalytic OER performance of BP through various strategies. It is well known that the main factors that determine the performance of electrocatalyst OER include the number of catalytic active site, electrical conductivity, and catalytic activity. [3,11] Our previous work has reported [12] that reducing the number of layers of BP nanosheets can expose more reactive sites to enhance its electrocatalytic performance. The experimental results show that with the degree of BP nanosheets, its electrocatalytic oxygen evolution performance is continuously

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Through the calculation of the first principle, the diffusion barrier of Li atoms inserted the WS2/NbSe2 heterostructure is low, so it has an ultrafast charging and discharging for lithium-ion batteries.

As a new type of two‐dimensional (2D) materials, monoelemental 2D materials have the atomic structure similar to graphene, and their excellent optical and electronic properties have potential applications in many fields. To date, many studies based on monoelemental 2D materials have been reported, and excellent performance has been demonstrated in various fields. The monoelemental 2D materials that have been reported so far are mainly distributed in the group IIIA, IVA, VA, and VIA. Because of their structural similarities to graphene, they are commonly referred to as "Xenes." Here, we have comprehensively reviewed the research progress of monoelemental 2D materials. In this review, we explore the structure, properties, and practical applications of these monoelemental 2D materials. First, the classification, structural features, optical properties, electronic characteristics, and regulating mechanism of these monoelemental 2D materials are introduced. Then, the practical application and research progress of monoelemental 2D materials in various fields are reviewed comprehensively, especially including photoelectric catalysis, solar cells, and other energy fields. This review will give readers a more all‐sided understanding of monoelemental 2D materials and have some guiding significance for their further development.

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