Enhancing NiAl-LDH@TiO₂-Tiv-S photoelectrocatalyst performance for textile dye degradation and oxygen production:...

In this study, a novel approach is presented to overcome the drawbacks of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as a semiconductor photocatalyst which has rapid charge carrier recombination as well as low visible-light response. These drawbacks lead to the decline of its performance in photocatalytic applications. For this purpose, sulfur (S) was incorporated into Ti structural vacancies (Tiv) by using a vacancy capture method. As a result, the spin-orbital configuration of electrons can be manipulated accurately, leading to higher photoelectrocatalytic efficiency. The resulting NiAl-LDH@TiO₂-Tiv-S core-shell photoelectrocatalyst provides good performance for dye degradation and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolytes. The electrocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye was also investigated by considering the effects of S concentration, temperature, pH value, current density, and dye concentration. The results showed that the OER requires overpotentials of only 202 mV at 250 mA cm^-2 and 242 mV at 750 mA cm^-2 as extra energy. At a high current density of 400 mA cm^-2 for 60 h, the stability of the modified electrode was higher than that of the commercial IrO₂ electrode. The novel proposed method makes it possible to overcome traditional doping limitations, control the electron spin direction, and increase charge carriers. Fast electron transfer, long-term stability, and a large specific surface area are some of the main features of the fabricated electrode for OER and dye degradation applications.