Urchin-like Structure Research Articles

M13-Phage-Based Star-Shaped Particles with Internal Flexibility.

We report on the construction and the dynamics of monodisperse star-shaped particles, mimicking, at the mesoscale, star polymers. Such multiarm star-like particles result from the self-assembly of gold nanoparticles, forming the core, with tip-linked filamentous viruses (M13 bacteriophages) acting as spines in a sea urchin-like structure. By combining fluorescence and dark-field microscopy with dynamic light scattering, we investigate the diffusion of these hybrid spiny particles. We reveal the internal dynamics of the star particles by probing their central metallic core, which exhibits a hindered motion that can be described as a Brownian particle trapped in a harmonic potential. We therefore show that the filamentous viruses and specifically their tip proteins behave as entropic springs, extending the relevance of the study of such hybrid mesoscopic analogues of star polymers to phage biotechnology.

Rational design of sea urchin-like FeOOH anchored hollow carbon spheres as chloride-insertion electrodes for efficient faradic capacitive deionization

Faradic capacitive deionization (FDI) is one of the most promising branches of capacitive deionization (CDI) to relieve global water stress. However, the problems of slow desalination kinetics and poor cycle stability of the anode of FDI have greatly restricted the development of its practical applications. Herein, we put forward a strategy of employing hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) with high specific surface area, and good electrical conductivity/stability as the structural backbone and further decorated it with FeOOH nanorod to construct a 3D sea urchin-like structure (HCSs@FeOOH) as the anode for FDI. Notably, the essence of this design is the structural backbone (HCSs) could not only prevent the structural agglomeration between FeOOH but also provide good electric conductivity to the material system to realize superior pseudo-capacitance. As a result, the HCSs@FeOOH-based FDI system displays excellent desalination performance (desalination capacity and rate up to 69.48 mg g−1 and 0.37 mg g−1 s−1) with good durability (only 14.32 % desalination capacity decrease over 100 cycles), respectively.

Boosted micropollutant removal over urchin-like structured hydroxyapatite-incorporated nickel magnetite catalyst via peroxydisulfate activation

In this work, urchin-like structured hydroxyapatite-incorporated nickel magnetite (NiFe3O4/UHdA) microspheres were developed for the efficient removal of micropollutants (MPs) via peroxydisulfate (PDS) activation. The prepared NiFe3O4/UHdA degraded 99.0 % of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) after 15 min in 2 mM PDS, having a first-order kinetic rate constant of 0.210 min−1. In addition, NiFe3O4/UHdA outperformed its counterparts, i.e., Fe3O4/UHdA and Ni/UHdA, by giving rise to corresponding 3.6-fold and 8.6-fold enhancements in the SMX removal rate. The outstanding catalytic performance can be ascribed to (1) the urchin-like mesoporous structure with a large specific surface area and (2) the remarkable synergistic effect caused by the redox cycle of Ni3+/Ni2+ and Fe2+/Fe3+ that enhances multipath electron transfers on the surface of NiFe3O4/UHdA to produce more reactive oxygen species. Moreover, the effects of several reaction parameters, in this case the initial solution pH, PDS dosage, SMX concentration, catalyst loading, co-existing MPs and humic acid level on the catalytic performance of the NiFe3O4/UHdA + PDS system were systematically investigated and discussed in detail. The plausible catalytic mechanisms in the NiFe3O4/UHdA + PDS system were revealed via scavenging experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis, which indicated a radical (•OH and SO4•−) as the major pathway and a nonradical (1O2) as the minor pathway for SMX degradation. Furthermore, NiFe3O4/UHdA exhibited fantastic magnetically separation and retained good catalytic activity with a low leached ion concentration during the performance of four cycles. Overall, the prepared NiFe3O4/UHdA with outstanding PDS activation could be a promising choice for the degradation of persistent organic pollutants from wastewater.

Urchin-like structure and nanowire arrays of NiCo2O4/NiCoSe2 as a binder-free electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor

Hybrid structures targeted at high-performance electrochemical applications circumvent great challenges. Nanostructures with high porosity facilitating electrolyte penetration and providing fast ion and electron transfer are suitable candidates for constructing hybrid structured electrode materials. Here in, an architecture composed of nanowires and urchin-like structures of NiCo2O4 covered by NiCoSe2 nanosheets is successfully constructed on Ni foam through hydrothermal treatment in association with electrodeposition. The fabricated NiCo2O4/NiCoSe2 hybrid electrode demonstrates areal capacitance of 12.09 F cm-2 at current density of 5 mA cm-2, surpassing that of pristine NiCo2O4. Furthermore, the electrode evidences cycling stability with 87.6% capacitance retention over 3000 cycles. An asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor, assembled by the NiCo2O4/NiCoSe2 as a positive electrode and activated carbon as a negative electrode, represents areal capacitance of 3.07 F cm-2 at 5 mA cm−2. The as-fabricated device with excellent cycling stability (90.9% capacitance retention over 2000 cycles) delivers an energy density of 66.13 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 233 W kg-1. Our results convey a promising synthesis method of the core-shell structure of NiCo2O4/NiCoSe2 nanowire arrays for application in supercapacitors.

Novel three-dimensional electrode structures with urchin-like pore canal for high-performance microbial fuel cells

In this work, a kind of urchin-like porous structural gel beads as three-dimensional (3D) packed anode materials were prepared to utilize the chemical coprecipitation method, forming the reduced graphene/chitosan/Fe3O4 (rGO/CHI/Fe3O4) gel beads (GFe100). The average diameter of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the gel beads was about 13 nm, distributing uniformly in GFe100 gel beads in situ. Fe3O4 nanoparticles formed in the material-preparation process had a significant pore-creating function to form urchin-like pore canals with the help of the micro-reactor. The average size of these canals was 13.55 μm, which could enhance more functional microbes in the gel beads to strengthen the biocompatibility and extracellular electron transfer (EET) of anode electrodes. The maximum output voltage and power density of GFe100 was 759 mV and 17.823 W·m-3, which was 2.3 times (327 mV) and 23.21 times (0.768 W m-3) higher than that of GFe0 prepared without any addition of Fe2+, respectively. The significant electricity generation performance of GFe100 was mainly attributed to the urchin-like canal structure. Exoelectrogens possessed the macropore structure for the controlled diffusion process and extracellular metabolic products occupied the micropore and mesopore structure donating for the surface reactant process. This work suggested that three-dimensional gel beads filled into the anode chamber might be the potential for long-term MFC practice application with a high electricity generation performance.

Sea urchin-like cobalt selenide/N-doped carbon dots as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for water electrolysis

Designing high-efficient, durable and low-cost bifunctional electrocatalysts is of great significance to realize green hydrogen production by electrolytic water splitting. Herein, 3D sea urchin-like CoSe2 arrays modified with nitrogen doped carbon dots grown on Ni foam (CoSe2/NCDs/NF) was successfully constructed via an easy hydrothermal reaction combined with anion exchange process. The designed CoSe2/NCDs/NF catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic activity and stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in different electrolyte, with reduced overpotential of 268 mV to afford 70 mA cm−2 for OER and low overpotentials of 94/102 mV in acid/alkaline solution at 10 mA cm−2 for HER, respectively. Impressively, when assembling a two-electrode alkaline electrolyzer with CoSe2/NCDs/NF simultaneously acts as the anode and cathode, the cell voltage of only 1.61 V is obtained to drive 30 mA cm−2, with robust stability(for at least 70 h). The excellent catalytic activity is attributed that the 3D sea urchin-like structure significantly augments exposure of active sites and facilitates mass/charge transport; the synergy effect of NCDs and CoSe2 effectively promotes electron transfer, optimizes electronic environment, and adjusts the adsorption/desorption free energy of the intermediates; and in situ growth of materials and introduction of carbon materials ensures structural stability and enhances the electrical conductivity. This work provides a feasible guidance for the rational design of transition metal selenide catalysts with outstanding performance.

Preparation and SERS applications of Ta2O5 composite nanostructures.

Noble metal and semiconductor composite substrates possess high sensitivity, excellent stability, good biocompatibility, and selective enhancement, making them an important research direction in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Ta2O5, as a semiconductor material with high thermal stability, corrosion resistance, outstanding optical properties, and catalytic performance, has great potential in SERS research. This study aims to design and fabricate a composite SERS substrate based on Ta2O5 nanostructures, achieving optimal detection performance by combining the urchin-like structure of Ta2O5 with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The urchin-like Ta2O5 nanostructures were prepared using a hydrothermal reaction method. The bandgap was modulated through structure design and the self-doping technique, the charge transfer efficiency and surface plasmon resonance effects were improved, thereby achieving better SERS performance. The composite substrate enables highly sensitive quantitative detection. This composite SERS substrate combines the electromagnetic enhancement mechanism (EM) and chemical enhancement mechanism (CM), achieving ultra-low detection limits of 10-13 M for R6G. Within the concentration range above 10-12 M, there is a good linear relationship between concentration and peak intensity, demonstrating excellent quantitative analysis capabilities. Furthermore, this composite SERS substrate is capable of precise detection of analytes such as crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB), holding broad application prospects in areas such as food safety and environmental monitoring.

Preparation and electrochemical performance of NiCo2S4 nanoelectrode materials

In this paper, NiCo2S4 nanoelectrode materials were prepared by a two-step hydrothermal method. Physical and morphological characterization and electrochemical testing revealed that the prepared NiCo2S4 has a sea urchin-like layered three-dimensional network structure, which can fully increase the contact area with the electrolyte, increase the active sites and improve the electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of the prepared NiCo2S4 nanomaterials reached 717.32 F/g. The cyclic voltammetry test curve as well as galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) test curve have perfect symmetry, good material reversibility. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicates materials with low impedance. The specific capacitance remained 76.8% after 3000 cycles and the electrochemical stability was good. NiCo2S4 electrode material has excellent electrochemical properties and has a promising application in supercapacitor electrodes.

Urchin-like Fe3O4@C with core-shell structure modified 2D MXene for high-performance microwave absorption

As a typical two-dimensional material, Ti3C2Tx MXene has been considered a novel potential microwave-absorbing material because of its outstanding metallic-like conductivity and rich surface functional groups. Unfortunately, the microwave absorption performance is constrained by its intrinsic high conductivity and single loss mechanism. Herein, an urchin-like Fe3O4@C hollow sphere with core-shell structure was built by hydrothermal and annealing processes, which was subsequently used to modify MXene via electrostatic self-assembly. The Fe3O4@C/Ti3C2Tx hybrid with 30 wt% Fe3O4@C loading displayed a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) value of –64.0 dB at a thickness of 3.32 mm and a maximum efficient absorption bandwidth (EABmax) of 3.02 GHz at 3.24 mm. The exceptional microwave absorption performance is mainly attributed to the impedance matching brought about by the special urchin-like core-shell structure of Fe3O4@C, as well as the rich interfacial polarization and multiple reflections/scatterings. This work offers a novel idea for the design of efficient MXene-based microwave-absorbing materials.

Regulating the tip effect on urchin-like N-NiCoP/NF as high-performance electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have emerged as highly promising electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their earth-abundance reserves, rich electrochemical active sites and high stability. Herein, to cope with the inert atoms on the basal plane and sluggish electrochemical kinetics, we propose a novel strategy involving the in-situ conversion of urchin-like NiCo-LDH into a nitrogen-doped NiCoP electrocatalyst on nickel foam (N-NiCoP/NF) via a hydrothermal-phosphorylation approach. In this structure, NiCoP nanoneedles are assembled into a tip-rich urchin-like structure on NF substrates, delivering abundant mismatched active sites for capturing catalytic intermediates, accelerating charge transport and constructing an optimized heterogeneous interface. Additionally, heterogeneous N-atom doping can further regulate the charge distribution of NiCoP needles, and significantly contribute to enhancing the electrocatalytic performance for HER. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of the abundant active sites provided by tip-rich NiCoP nano-urchin, electronic modulation by heterogeneous N-species and optimized interfacial coupling, the N-NiCoP/NF electrocatalyst displays low overpotentials of 75 mV and obtains 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline electrolyte without significant decrease even after 5000 cycles, indicating high catalytic activity and stability. This study provides a low-cost and controlled approach for developing novel heteroatom-doped TMPs for HER applications.The various properties of the materials surprisingly demonstrate that our diatomic codoping strategy prepared by facile hydrothermal phosphatization with annealing can effectively enhance the HER properties of the materials. The unique morphology possessed by the material provides advantages such as active sites and accelerated charge transport that can further enhance the catalytic performance of the material, which is further formalized by our DFT calculations. Our theoretical and experimental studies provide a good case for the development of simple and low-cost electrocatalytic materials.

Construction of urchin-like core-shell Fe/Fe2O3@UiO-66 hybrid for effective tetracycline reduction and photocatalytic oxidation

Although Fe/Fe2O3 has potential application compared with nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI), its smooth structure largely limits the catalytic performance. To address this challenge, we innovatively constructed highly efficient composite Fe/Fe2O3@UiO-66 via employing an urchin-like core-shell structure of Fe/Fe2O3 onto UiO-66 through a facile ion exchange precipitation method without inert gas protection. The characterization results show the urchin-like core-shell configuration can extend the life span of Fe0 and produce more active sites. Besides, the absorption spectrum is broadened by Fe2O3 which has narrow band gap and the high-efficiency separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs is obtained with the load of Fe/Fe2O3. Moreover, Two-parameter pseudo-first-order decay model fits well with the reduction and adsorption of composites in the dark reaction, and a plausible pathway for tetracycline (TC) degradation is also proposed. The findings of this research provide a promising method for promoting the catalytic properties of MOF-based materials and Fe/Fe2O3.

In-situ-derived carbon coated sea urchin-like Na3V2(PO4)3 from V2C MXene for high-performance capacitive deionization

Cathode materials with high capacity and cyclic durability are urgently needed for capacitive deionization. Na3V2(PO4)3 is an emerging pseudocapacitive candidate for this process on account of its high capacity and Na+ reversible insertion, while it suffers from the intrinsic low electrical conductivity and small electrolyte-accessible surface area. Herein, a sea urchin-like Na3V2(PO4)3 @carbon (NVP@C) compound material was synthesized from MXene-V2C via hydrothermal method followed by annealing treatment, and then assembled as capacitive deionization (CDI) electrode material. Benefiting from three-dimensional sea urchin-like structure, where the nanoneedles of NVP@C serve as fast transport channel for Na+, NVP@C performed high specific capacity (437 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1) and fast ionic diffusion kinetics. Moreover, the NVP@C showed attractive desalination performance as cathode material for CDI, achieving a remarkable adsorption capacity of 74.0 mg g−1 in a NaCl salt solution (1000 mg L−1) and long life cycle stability. The present work provides a novel perspective to construct practical redox-active and stable CDI electrode with 3D structure from MXene for highly capacitive and durable desalination application.

Constructing 3D hierarchical TiO2 microspheres with enhanced mass diffusion for efficient glucose photoreforming under modulated reaction conditions

Three-dimensional (3D) TiO2 hierarchical microspheres (THMs) were successfully prepared via a facial template-free hydrothermal approach. The possible growth mechanism of THM was also investigated by TiCl4 concentration-, time-, and temperature-dependent experiments. The results indicate that the formation of an urchin-like hierarchical structure may follow a “nucleation-dissolution and recrystallization-assembly” process. THM was employed for photoreforming under various catalyst and glucose concentrations, solvent compositions, and pH values. The H2 production rate, glucose conversion, arabinose and formic acid selectivity reached 9.44 mmol gcat.−1h−1, 86.35%, 11.32%, and 46.87%, respectively, under the modulated condition with Pt as cocatalyst; this is attributed to the enhanced mass diffusion caused by the 3D hierarchical morphology as well as the interaction between unsaturated Ti atoms (or oxygen vacancies) in THM and the hydroxyl oxygen atoms on glucose. In addition, the enhanced light absorption induced by defects also exerts a positive effect. In this work, we present an emerging sustainable strategy for the coproduction of H2 and value-added chemicals from biomass-based glucose with economic photocatalysts under mild conditions.

In situ grown three-dimensional porous Co3O4/graphdiyne oxide hybrid nanomaterials with sea urchin-like structures for high-performance zinc–air batteries

As a promising energy conversion system, zinc air battery (ZAB) usually suffers from short cycle life and poor reversibility due to the slow kinetics of the redox reaction on the air cathode, making it a big-barriers in practical applications. Herein, three-dimensional (3D) porous Co3O4/graphdiyne oxide (GDYO) hybrid nanomaterials with sea urchin-like structures have been prepared by in-situ epitaxial growth. The 3D porous Co3O4/GDYO hybrid nanomaterials with sea urchin-like structures expand the larger contact area between the electrolyte and the electrode, which provide abundant channels for ion diffusion and electron transport with enhanced charge transfer kinetics and structural stability. The 3D porous Co3O4/GDYO hybrid nanomaterials with sea urchin-like structures shows excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) (onset potential of 1.38 V, overpotential of 335 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) (onset potential of 0.84 V, half-wave potential of 0.6 V). ZABs fabricated with 3D porous Co3O4/GDYO hybrid nanomaterials as cathode display a high power density of 96 m W cm−2, an open circuit voltage of 1.53 V, as well as a specific capacity of 799.5 mA h g−1 (at 10 mA cm−2) and a corresponding energy density of 965 Wh kg−1. Further, its charge and discharge voltages remain stable for over 400 h at a constant current charge–discharge cycling of 3 mA cm−2. This work offers novel insights on developing excellent bifunctional electrocatalysts for both OER and ORR, which expands a new application of GDYO on ZABs.

Internally bridged nanosilica for loadings and release of sparsely soluble compounds

The engineering of a new monodisperse colloid with a sea urchin-like structure with a large complex internal structure is reported, in which silica surfaces are bridged by an aromatic organic cross-linker to serve as a nanocarrier host for drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX) against breast cancer cells. While dendritic fibrous nanosilica (DFNS) was employed and we do not observe a dendritic structure, these particles are referred to as sea urchin-like nanostructured silica (SNS). Since the structure of SNS consists of many silica fibrils protruding from the core, similar to the hairs of a sea urchin. For the aromatic structured cross-linker, bis(propyliminomethyl)benzene (b(PIM)B-S or silanated terephtaldehyde) were employed, which are prepared with terephtaldehyde and 3-aminopropyltriethoxy-silane (APTES) through a simple Schiff base reaction. b(PIM)B-S bridges were introduced into SNS under open vessel reflux conditions. SPS refers to the product obtained by incorporating the cross-linker b(PIM)B-S in ultra-small colloidal SNS particles. In-situ incorporation of DOX molecules resulted in SPS-DOX. The pH-responsive SPS nanocomposites were tested as biocompatible nanocarriers for controllable doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. We conclude that SPS is a unique colloid which has promising potential for technological applications such as advanced drug delivery systems, wastewater remediation and as a catalyst for green organic reactions in water.

Urchin-like Fe3O4@C hollow spheres with core–shell structure: Controllable synthesis and microwave absorption

The steadily increasing use of microwave stealth materials in aerospace flying vehicles needs the development of lightweight absorbers with low density and high thermal stability for printing or spraying. In that regard, the structural designability of typical microwave absorbers made of Fe3O4 seems to be a significant roadmap. In this work, a hollow spherical structure with a uniform carbon shell around the urchin-like Fe3O4 core (Fe3O4@C) was produced via a two-step hydrothermal method and annealing. The Fe3O4@C absorber exhibited a strong minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −73.5 dB at the matching thickness of 3.23 mm. The maximum effective absorption bandwidth (EABmax) was 4.78 GHz at 4.55 mm. The proposed urchin-like core–shell structure was shown to provide good impedance matching and electromagnetic loss ability due to the synergistic effect of Fe3O4 and C. In particular, the urchin-like structure increases the heterogeneous interfaces and effectively improves their polarization and relaxation. On the other hand, it reduces the density of the absorber and enhances multiple scattering attenuations of electromagnetic waves (EMWs). Therefore, the findings of the present study open up prospects for the design of high-efficiency lightweight microwave absorbers with specialized structures.

A Nickel-Based Coordination Compound with Tunable Morphology for High-Performance Anode and the Lithium Storage Mechanism

Metal-organic coordination compounds (MCCs) have received a lot of attention as anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their abundant structural configuration, tunable morphology, high surface area, and low cost, but the lithium storage mechanism of MCCs is still a mystery. Herein, we synthesized a kind of nickel-based coordination compound (marked as Ni-PP-x, x = 1, 2, or 3) with tunable morphologies and different solvent ratios via a microwave irradiation solvothermal method and then applied them as anodes for LIBs. Among them, the Ni-PP-2 electrode, with a hollow and urchin-like structure, showed the longest lifespan and maintained a high capacity of 713 mAh g−1 at 2.0 A g−1 after 800 cycles. Measured by ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the Ni-PP-2 electrode was confirmed by a redox reaction mechanism of Li+ cations with a benzene ring and O-Ni2+/O-Ni0 coordination bonds, and the cyclic voltammetry curves have exhibited a capacitive dominated lithium storage behavior. This work provides a new type of Ni-based coordination compound and an in-depth understanding of their lithium storage mechanism, paving the way for the application of MCC compounds in the future.

Simpler and greener preparation of an in-situ polymerized polyimide anode for lithium ion batteries

A simplified and greener procedure for in-situ obtaining polyimide anode materials for lithium-ion battery electrodes is developed. The combined polyimide material synthesis and electrode preparation reduces the number of processing steps and treatment duration and decreases the energy required for heat treatment, solvent evaporation, and organic solvent use. More importantly, polymerization in situ on the electrode surface render the polyimide particles a sea urchin-like structure, leading to fast electrochemical kinetics, and significant improvement in discharge capacity and cycling performance compared with materials obtained using traditional procedures. Specific capacities of 1870 mAh g− 1 and 2277 mAh g− 1 at 30 °C and 60 °C, respectively, are obtained. A capacity of 1774 mAh g− 1 is retained after 500 cycles at high current density of 1000 mA g− 1 at 60 °C. This new preparation process not only simplifies the preparation process and makes it greener, but also significantly improves the battery performance, providing new possibilities for the preparation of high-performance low-cost lithium-ion battery electrodes.

Emerging urchin-like core-shell mineral microspheres with efficient photothermal conversion and solar energy storage

Enormous challenges still seriously restrict the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in thermal energy storage and heat management systems, such as their leakage, low thermal conductivity, and low photothermal conversion efficiency. We reported an effective strategy for the morphology-controlled synthesis of the composite microsphere with an urchin-like core-shell structure for encapsulated paraffin, which synergistically enhanced efficient solar thermal conversion and heat energy storage. The SCGT was prepared by coating a layer of urchin-like TiO2 on the core composed of sepiolite, cellulose nanocrystals, and graphite (SCG). The synergistic effect of the core-shell structure makes paraffin-SCGT (P-SCGT) composites possess a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 94 % and outstanding heat energy storage capacity, with the melting and crystallization enthalpy of 137.4 J/g and 127.5 J/g. Furthermore, the mortar cylinder developed with the P-SCGT and mortar (P-SCGT-M) indicated exceptional thermal management abilities in attenuating the temperature fluctuations between diurnal and nocturnal periods, even multiple heating and cooling cycles. Therefore, the prepared materials with comprehensive properties would be perspective applied in solar collector systems and energy-saving buildings.

Novel Bismuth Sulfide-Indium (Hydroxy) Sulfide [Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy] nanoarchitecture for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

In photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, visible light active semiconductors exhibit high conversion efficiency as they are more responsive. Herein, we have realized novel Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy nanoarchitectures for efficient PEC water splitting. We have electrodeposited bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) thin films, and In and S were incorporated via hydrothermal treatment, leading to the formation of novel Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy nanoarchitectures. Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy plane view field emission scanning electron microscope shows a novel patty-packed structure covered with some urchin-like structures, implying a strong surface effect. Electron Impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed for impedance measurements. Flat band potential and carrier concentration were determined from Mott-Schottky (MS) plots. The realized novel Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy nanoarchitecture-based photoanodes exhibited a remarkable photocurrent density of 7.77 mA/cm2 at a bias voltage of 1.2 V/RHE under 1.5 AM illumination (1000 W/m2). The heterojunction nanoarchitectures have a reduction in the surface states of the nanocrystal, low lattice misfit, and quick charge transfer, which leads to effective PEC activity. The ABPE for the novel Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy nanoarchitecture-based photoanodes is 4.5% at 0.6 V vs. RHE in an electrolyte solution containing 0.1 M Na2SO4. The results are encouraging and suggest that the Bi2S3–In(OH)xSy nanoarchitectures-based photoanodes can be a prospective material for efficient solar-to-hydrogen generation devices.