Enhanced bactericidal performance of copper doped CeO2 nanocomposites

Light-driven N-doped carbon quantum dots facilitate microbial chain elongation: Bridging process enhancement to functional metagenomics.

Waste wood-derived dual Z-scheme WO3/ZnIn2S4/biochar heterojunctions design: Renewable biomass transition for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

A novel sepiolite-supported Ce-doped black TiO2 composite for the synergistic degradation of xanthates.

Synergistic enhancement of nitrogen and phosphorus removal by Pseudomonas sp. GD01 through g-C3N4 photocatalysis: performance and mechanisms.

Photocatalytic degradation phenomena of methylene blue dye by ZnFe2O4 decorated with rGO nanocomposites under visible light irradiation

Rice-shaped brookite TiO2 and nanosheet-like Bi2MoO6 heterojunctions for efficient removal of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride under visible light irradiation

Multifunctional applications of green synthesized nickel doped manganese oxide nanoparticles prepared via microwave assisted combustion method

In situ preparation of heterometallic polyphthalocyanine/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Interfacial ReS bonds as charge transfer highways toward superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Light-induced physicochemical alterations of photoacid-containing nanogels allow spatiotemporal control over their cellular uptake.

Multifunctional CuFe₂O₄/rGO nanocomposites: Green synthesis, photocatalytic degradation of methyl violet, and electrochemical detection of Pb²⁺/Cd²⁺

Covalently bound Eosin Y on chitosan as a removable photosensitizer for ranitidine degradation.

Tailoring the structure and morphology of hematite via Zn doping for superior photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B

Microwave-assisted green synthesis of Ni-integrated ZnCo2O4 nanospheres with enhanced photocatalytic and supercapacitive performance

Dual-functional Ti-MOF/g-C3N4 engineered PVDF membranes for photocatalytic self-cleaning and high-flux water remediation.

Photocatalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation represents a crucial strategy for bacterial inactivation in environmental remediation. Addressing the inherent limitations of single-phase photocatalysts, including high photogenerated carrier recombination rates and low solar spectrum utilization efficiency due to their single band structure, this study designed and constructed an S-scheme heterojunction-based high-efficiency antibacterial material, Bi2MoO6/KNbO3. The Bi2MoO6/KNbO3 composite fabricated through hydrothermal synthesis demonstrated significantly enhanced photocatalytic antibacterial performance, achieving a bacterial inactivation efficiency of 99.5 % under 20 min of visible light irradiation. This represents 3.75-fold and 2.29-fold improvements compared to pristine KNbO3 and Bi2MoO6, respectively. Through in situ characterization and theoretical calculations, we confirmed that the synergistic effect of the built-in electric field and band bending at the heterointerface drives the S-scheme charge transfer mechanism, enabling efficient spatial separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs as the primary factor for enhanced antibacterial performance. Quenching experiments quantitatively analyzed the antibacterial contributions, revealing that ROS (74.72 %) predominantly governs the bacterial inactivation process, complemented by physical damage from surface microstructures and auxiliary metal ion leaching. This investigation provides novel strategic insights for developing high-performance photocatalytic antibacterial materials.

The most common method for improving the catalytic properties of semiconducting metal oxide nanoparticles (MO NPs) is to enhance the surface defect engineering, typically by doping or structural transformation. Specifically, doping with transition metals can significantly promote the formation of oxygen vacancy that can enhance both of electron-hole localization and photocatalytic activity. Here, we report an integrated experimental and theoretical investigation on incorporation of Cr and Fe ions into ZnO NPs to induce aliovalency that produces highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis. Comprehensive structural and chemical characterizations revealed that the amount of oxygen vacancies was increased by doping with Cr or Fe ions during visible light photoactivation. Density functional theory (DFT) simulation demonstrated that dopant-oxygen bonds distorted surface ZnO bonds for facile vacancy generation, thereby creating trap states for efficient electron-hole separation. To directly link the formation of surface oxygen vacancies introduced with improved photocatalytic activity by different-valence metal doping, the selective photocatalytic oxidation of 2,5-hydroxymethylfurfural was investigated under visible light irradiation. ZnO NPs doped with Cr or Fe ions exhibited high efficiency and selectivity in oxidizing 2,5-hydroxymethylfurfural to the valuable platform chemical, 2,5-furanedicarboxylic acid. The distinct photocatalytic activity of three different MO NPs was rationalized by the localized defect states created by oxygen vacancy in DFT simulation. This work highlights, through a tight integration of experiment and theory, how judicious surface engineering-through strategic dopant incorporation and controlled oxygen vacancy formation-could fundamentally transform wide-bandgap oxides into efficient, visible-light-driven photocatalysts for sustainable chemical synthesis.

The integration of programmable actuation with material circularity remains a critical challenge in the development of sustainable soft matter. Here, we report a dynamic covalent hydrogel that combines temperature-programmable photomorphing with closed-loop recyclability in a single material platform. The hydrogel is constructed from three dithiolane-derived components, including a spiropyran-modified thioctic acid (monomer ST), oligo(ethylene glycol)-modified thioctic acid (OEGn-T), and a crosslinker (PEG-T) containing two dithiolane end-groups linked via a polyethylene glycol chain. Upon visible-light irradiation, distinct macroscopic deformation modes, i.e., bending and then recovering or significant and fast bending without recovering, can be selectively programmed simply by adjusting the photoirradiation temperature. This temperature-programmable photomorphing behaviour arises from the interplay between spiropyran photoisomerization and lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-driven phase transition. The photomorphing function can be maintained after storage in aqueous solution or at dry ambient conditions for three weeks. Notably, the dynamic disulfide network enables efficient depolymerization under mild basic conditions, allowing recovery of up to 95% of the spiropyran-modified monomer ST, establishing a closed-loop lifecycle of monomer ST. These findings provide insights into the synergy effects of molecular isomerization and LCST-driven phase transition within dynamic disulfide networks, offering a promising strategy toward next-generation sustainable soft actuators with both sophisticated functionality and end-of-life circularity.

Solar-driven overall water splitting offers a sustainable route for producing hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide, yet achieving high H2O2 selectivity remains challenging due to competing proton-coupled electron transfer pathways. Here we construct an S-scheme heterojunction composed of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and K3PW12O40, where the built-in electric field at the interface enhances charge separation and promotes proton transfer, creating a favorable microenvironment for selective H2O2 generation. This catalyst achieves H2 and H2O2 production rates of 603 and 586 μmol/g·h simultaneously under visible light irradiation. The tailored electronic structure lowers energy barriers for key intermediates, facilitating selective H2O2 production. These findings demonstrate that interfacial proton regulation combined with broad light absorption and efficient charge separation can guide the design of multifunctional photocatalysts for scalable solar-driven H2O2 synthesis.