Full-Spectrum Solar-Driven Photothermal Strategy Based on Oxygen-Vacancy-Engineered NiOOH@H-TiO₂ for High-Efficiency...

Harnessing solar energy for pollutant removal remains constrained by limited light-harvesting efficiency and insufficient interfacial compatibility between catalysts and organic contaminants. Here, we report a full-spectrum photothermal catalytic platform based on commercial TiO₂ engineered with surface oxygen vacancies. The introduction of oxygen-vacancy sites establishes a dynamic adsorption environment capable of binding key functional groups of organic pollutants while simultaneously converting TiO₂ into a broadband-absorbing black derivative that exhibits pronounced photothermal response under near-infrared irradiation. Incorporation of NiOOH further enhances charge generation and promotes the formation of reactive oxygen species (•OH and •O₂ ^-), thereby accelerating photothermal oxidation pathways. The NiOOH@H-TiO₂ enables rapid degradation of Rhodamine B (20 ppm), achieving >99% removal within 5 min, and maintains >98% efficiency over five consecutive cycles with negligible activity loss (<2%). These results demonstrate a generalizable approach for constructing full-spectrum photothermal catalysts and offer new insights into solar-driven water purification.