Facile Liquid Phase Exfoliation Synthesis of 2D Non–Van der Waals TiB ₂ Nanosheets for High–Performance Self–Powered Photoelectrochemical Photodetector With Underwater Application

ABSTRACT

Two–dimensional (2D) non–van der Waals (non–vdW) nanomaterials have been widely explored for their excellent physicochemical properties. Herein, 2D non–vdW titanium diboride nanosheets (TiB ₂ NSs) are successfully fabricated via a facile top–down liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) approach. The as–prepared TiB ₂ NSs are subjected to comprehensive structural and morphological characterization and then used to construct a photoelectrochemical (PEC)–type photodetector (PD). Systematic PEC measurements confirm that the device exhibits tunable photoresponse across both ultraviolet and visible light regions. Under 350 nm light irradiation in 0.1 

KOH electrolyte, the device achieves self–powered photodetection with a photocurrent ( I _ph ) of 109.10 nA cm ⁻² , photoresponsivity ( R _ph ) of 1.48 µA W ⁻¹ , and detectivity ( D ^* ) of 4.93 × 10 ⁹ Jones. The PD also shows fast response/recovery speeds and excellent long‐term stability under ambient conditions, with I _ph decreasing only 15% after one month. Notably, the self‐powered TiB ₂ NSs–based PEC photodetector exhibits stable photoresponse in simulated seawater, highlighting its promise for underwater optoelectronic devices.