Green and efficient exfoliation of ReS2 and its photoelectric response based on electrophoretic deposited photoelectrodes

Abstract Environmentally friendly synthesis and scalable photoelectrode fabrication are important for the photoelectric conversion in photocurrent generation. We find that 28% ethanol in 72% deionized water are the best mixed solvent for efficient exfoliation of layered ReS 2 by absorption spectra and the enthalpy of mixing theory. Electrophoretic deposition method is used to fabricate photoelectrodes with different thicknesses by controlling the deposition time. These photoelectrodes demonstrate fast and stable photoelectric response and enhanced photocurrent with the thickness of the nanosheet films controlled by the deposition time. We also discuss the photoelectric mechanism as well as the influence of the effective mass of the monolayer, two-layer, and bulk ReS 2 via Vienna ab initio Simulation Package (VASP). This work paves the way for the solvent selection in exfoliation of ReS 2 nanosheets as well as the scalable fabrications for the photodetectors, photoelectrodes, and other solar energy conversion devices.