Abstract Owing to the tunable coordinated ligands in the covalently terminated (such as H or other organic groups) group IV graphane analogues (GAs), i.e., silicane, germanane, stannanane, the electronic structures, stability and other related properties in these materials can be rationally tuned. In this work, the methyl-terminated germanane GeCH3, synthesized through a solvothermal process by using the Zintl phase CaGe2 crystal as precursors, is reported as a new class of covalently terminated photocatalyst. In contrast to the H-terminated germanane GeH, the GeCH3 photocatalyst shows enhanced photocatalytic performance during both hydrogen generation and the decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible light illumination (λ ≥ 420 nm). The higher photocatalytic activity of GeCH3 can be attributed to its higher surface area, lower charge transfer resistance and preferable electronic structures comparing to GeH with H termination. Our work indicates 2D GAs could be an attractive platform for high efficient photocatalysts with tunable properties, which could be potentially applied in many fields.

中文翻译：

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溶剂热法合成具有改进光催化性能的甲基封端锗烷GeCH3

摘要 由于共价封端（如 H 或其他有机基团）IV 族石墨烷类似物 (GAs) 中的可调配位配体，即硅烷、锗烷、锡烷，这些材料的电子结构、稳定性和其他相关性质可以通过合理调整。在这项工作中，使用 Zintl 相 CaGe2 晶体作为前驱体，通过溶剂热法合成的甲基封端锗烷 GeCH3 被报道为一类新型共价封端的光催化剂。与 H 封端的锗烷 GeH 相比，GeCH3 光催化剂在可见光照射（λ ≥ 420 nm）下，在产氢和罗丹明 B (RhB) 染料分解过程中均表现出增强的光催化性能。GeCH3 较高的光催化活性可归因于其较高的表面积，与具有 H 终止的 GeH 相比，更低的电荷转移电阻和更优的电子结构。我们的工作表明，2D GAs 可能是具有可调性能的高效光催化剂的有吸引力的平台，可能应用于许多领域。