Single-atom molybdenum array bound to distorted 1 T′ ReS2 quantum dots triggers highly intrinsic piezoelectricity for hierarchical porous electret piezo-catalysis

Piezoelectricity in 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has gathered significant interest due to their massive exposure of unsaturated edge sites and high piezoelectric modulus. Nevertheless, the piezoelectricity in 1 T′ phase TMDs is inhibited by its center symmetry of space group. Herein, to break the shackles of piezoelectric polarization, we synthesize a piezoelectric material composed of an atomic molybdenum array bound to distorted 1 T′ ReS2 (MDR). The phase transition from 1 T′ to distorted 1 T′ (D-1 T′) removes the special Peierl's distortion of ReS2, breaking its center symmetry and allowing for piezoelectric generation. Remarkably, MDR exhibits a large piezoelectric coefficient (d33) value of 15.45 pm/V, which is an order of magnitude higher than those reported in other TMDs. Combining with excellent piezocatalytic activity, a 0D/3D di-piezoelectric porous electret featuring an enhanced quantum confinement piezoelectric effect based on the MDR quantum dots (QDs) and inverse opal g-C3N4 (IOCN) is demonstrated for high-efficiency piezoelectric catalysis.