Robust Synthesis of Large‐Area PtSe<sub>2</sub> Microbelts by Step‐Induced Separation Growth on Au(001) Substrate for The Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Si Meng, Yang Yang, Xinyue Dai, Yue Tang, Mengfei He, Yiru Gu, Ruibin Jiang, Feng Ding, Hua Xu
Abstract
Abstract Platinum selenide (PtSe 2 ), an emerging 2D material, has attracted extensive attention owing to its wide‐tunable bandgap and ultrahigh conductivity for potential applications in optoelectronic and energy devices. However, the preparation of atomically thin PtSe 2 remains a big challenge due to its large formation energy. Herein, the robust synthesis of large‐area ultrathin PtSe 2 microbelts via a step‐induced separation growth strategy on Au(001) substrate is demonstrated. Thanks to the high controllability of this approach, the continuous modulation of the thickness of PtSe 2 microbelts from monolayer to bulk is realized and the sample coverage from ≈5% to ≈100% by coordinately tuning the growth temperature and time. Theory calculations indicate that the significant reduction of formation energy of PtSe 2 nucleation at the Au steps, along with the high‐efficiency separation‐supply of Pt precursor, are responsible for the robust synthesis of PtSe 2 . Owing to the rich‐edges with abundant active sites and metallic conduction features of ultrathin PtSe 2 microbelt, it can act as an excellent electrocatalyst, featured with a record high hydrogen evolution reaction efficiency (Tafel slope: 37 mV dec −1 ). This work provides new insights into the highly efficient synthesis of large‐scale 2D materials for exploring their unique physics and fascinating applications.