Z-scheme Ti3C2@Bi2O3 based MXene with multifaceted (0 0 1) and (1 0 1) TiO2 and Ti3+/oxygen vacancies: Photocatalytic degradation of dichlorophen via peroxymonosulfate activation, energy utilization and antibacterial activities

Abstract

In this study, highly porous Z-scheme Ti₃C₂@ 15 % Bi₂O₃ based Mxene with multifaceted (0 0 1) and (1 0 1) TiO₂ (MTB15) was synthesized via solvothermal route. The characterization analysis indicated that the synthesized photocatalyst was featured with beneficial Ti³⁺ centers and oxygen vacancies (OVs). The integration of peroxymonosulfate (PMS, 0.15 mM) to the synthesized photocatalyst has significantly boosted the degradation of dichlorophen (DCP, 6.0 mg L⁻¹) from 66.83 % (no PMS) to 98.69 % at 50 min of reaction time. The antibacterial properties of MTB15 have proven a significant reduction (1.13-log reduction) in Escherichia coli (E.coli) which is comparable to the 1.49-log reduction of the positive control. At a current density of 1 A/g, the synthesized MTB15 when applied as symmetrical supercapacitor cell (SSC) also showed unique electrochemical performance, having specific capacitance of 556.37F/g, energy density of 5.86W h kg⁻¹, and power density of 137.00W kg⁻¹. The H₂ generation rate of MTB15 was 4.86 mmol/h g⁻¹, which surpassed MTB0 by almost 5.85 times. Overall, the findings of this study explored the multifunctional behavior of MTB15 in terms of environmental remediation, energy storage, and generation and thus solving the real-world issues sustainably.