Ab initio study on photocatalytic properties of PtSSe-WXY Janus heterostructures

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Autori principali: Shastri, Shivprasad S., Cammarata, Antonio, Polcar, Tomas
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Shastri, Shivprasad S.
Cammarata, Antonio
Polcar, Tomas
author_facet Shastri, Shivprasad S.
Cammarata, Antonio
Polcar, Tomas
contents Semiconductor photocatalysis offers a sustainable route for converting solar energy into chemical energy, enabling the production of clean fuels and valuable chemical products. To this aim, we explore van der Waals heterostructures made up of Janus PtSSe and WXY (X, Y $=$ S, Se, Te and X $\neq$Y), in the context of photocatalytic applications. The redox capabilities of various heterostructure configurations (atom facing types and stacking orders) are evaluated by aligning the absolute band edge positions with respect to redox potentials of hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER) and CO$_2$ reduction reactions. The stability of photocatalyst candidates are checked by layer binding energy calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The optical absorption spectra suggest good light absorption in the visible range. Further, strain engineering is applied as a way to tune band edges and evaluate the possible use of the heterostructures as photocatalysts. This study shows that van der Waals heterostructure bilayers composed of Janus PtSSe and WSeTe in specific geometric configurations can be potential materials as photocatalysts for HER, OER and CO$_2$ reduction reactions. Finally, we suggest that, although systems made up of PtSSe and WSTe cannot be used for photocatalytic applications, they can be explored for applications in thermoelectric energy conversion or infrared photovoltaics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_09587
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ab initio study on photocatalytic properties of PtSSe-WXY Janus heterostructures
Shastri, Shivprasad S.
Cammarata, Antonio
Polcar, Tomas
Materials Science
Chemical Physics
Semiconductor photocatalysis offers a sustainable route for converting solar energy into chemical energy, enabling the production of clean fuels and valuable chemical products. To this aim, we explore van der Waals heterostructures made up of Janus PtSSe and WXY (X, Y $=$ S, Se, Te and X $\neq$Y), in the context of photocatalytic applications. The redox capabilities of various heterostructure configurations (atom facing types and stacking orders) are evaluated by aligning the absolute band edge positions with respect to redox potentials of hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER) and CO$_2$ reduction reactions. The stability of photocatalyst candidates are checked by layer binding energy calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The optical absorption spectra suggest good light absorption in the visible range. Further, strain engineering is applied as a way to tune band edges and evaluate the possible use of the heterostructures as photocatalysts. This study shows that van der Waals heterostructure bilayers composed of Janus PtSSe and WSeTe in specific geometric configurations can be potential materials as photocatalysts for HER, OER and CO$_2$ reduction reactions. Finally, we suggest that, although systems made up of PtSSe and WSTe cannot be used for photocatalytic applications, they can be explored for applications in thermoelectric energy conversion or infrared photovoltaics.
title Ab initio study on photocatalytic properties of PtSSe-WXY Janus heterostructures
topic Materials Science
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09587