Synthesis of CdSe Nanowires and CuInSe2 Nanosheets for Hydrogen Evolution

The exploitation of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials for applications in different fields is desired. Bismuthene (Bi-ene), as a 2D material, holds the promise of being used in photoelectric, electro-catalytic, and spintronic devices with multifunction. Bismuth nano-particles have been successfully utilized in the solution-liquid-solid (SLS) mechanism to obtain one-dimensional nanowires (NWs) over the decades. However, to the best of our knowledge, Bi-ene has never been attempted to be utilized as seeds in the SLS mechanism. Impressively, "Flammulina Velutipes" CdSe NWs and CuInSe2 nanosheets are synthesized for the first time by Bi-ene as seeds. Transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and high-angle annular dark-field imaging-scanning transmission electron microscopy are employed to characterize synthetic materials. Interestingly, uniform CdSe NWs with an average diameter -8.8 nm are obtained, which self-assembled to form a "Flammulina Velutipes" morphology. Meanwhile, by the similar SLS experiment process, high crystallinity thin CuInSe2 nanosheets with -12.5 nm in thickness and few micrometers in length are pioneeringly obtained through one-step reaction. Furthermore, preliminary HER performance exploration was carried out for this synthesized-CuInSe2 nanosheets, which exhibits a certain hydrogen evolution capacity in 1 M potassium hydroxide solution. The clarification of growth processes paves the way for further study, which provides a general strategy utilizing Bi-ene to synthesize semiconducting nanomaterials in diverse fields and promotes the synthesis of II-VI semiconductors with new morphology and properties in the SLS mechanism.