Janus‐Structured Co‐Ti3C2 MXene Quantum Dots as a Schottky Catalyst for High‐Performance Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Abstract MXene materials have attracted increasing attention in electrochemical energy‐storage applications while MXene also becomes photo‐active at the quantum dot scale, making it an alternative for solar‐energy‐conversion devices. A Janus‐structured cobalt‐nanoparticle‐coupled Ti 3 C 2 MXene quantum dot (Co‐MQD) Schottky catalyst with tunable cobalt‐loading content serving as a photoelectrochemical water oxidation photoanode is demonstrated. The introduction of cobalt triggers concomitant surface‐plasmon effects and acts as a water oxidation center, enabling visible‐light harvesting capability and improving surface reaction kinetics. Most importantly, due to the rectifying effects of Co‐MQD Schottky junctions, photogenerated carrier separation/injection efficiency can be fundamentally facilitated. Specifically, Co‐MQD‐48 exhibits both superior photoelectrocatalysis (2.99 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs RHE) and charge migration performance (87.56%), which corresponds to 194% and 236% improvement compared with MQD. Furthermore, excellent photostability can be achieved with less than 6.6% loss for 10 h cycling reaction. This fills in gaps in MXene material research in photoelectrocatalysis and allows for the extension of MXene into optical‐related fields.