• Emerson Coy, Phd, Dsc.
• Gogotsi, Oleksiy
• Lys, Andrii
• Iatsunskyi, Igor
• Jancelewicz, Mariusz

Abstract

The co-catalytic ability of surface groups in MXene renders MXene-based composites efficient photocatalysts fororganic dye photodegradation. In this study, we introduce a novel approach combining highly-regular laserinduced periodic surface Si structures (Si nanoripples - SiNR) with MXene and TiO2, deposited through atomiclayer deposition (ALD), to achieve stable, repeatable, and highly efficient photocatalytic materials. The ternarysystem, SiNR/MXene/TiO2, exhibits high light absorption across the entire spectrum. Furthermore, the photodegradation efficiency of SiNR/MXene/TiO2 is approximately 2.6 times higher than that of SiNR/TiO2 samples.This remarkable enhancement in photocatalytic activity can be attributed to two main factors: increased separation of photogenerated charge carriers and enhanced light absorbance through the light trapping effect. Thesynergistic combination of SiNRs, MXene, and TiO2 in the ternary nanocomposite structure enables efficientseparation of photogenerated charge carriers, thereby minimizing recombination and enhancing the degradationof organic dyes. Moreover, the introduction of a laser-patterned surface and its ALD modification significantlyenhances light absorbance, ensuring effective utilization of a wider range of the solar spectrum for photocatalysis. Therefore, SiNR/MXene/TiO2 ternary nanocomposites hold great promise for developing highperformance photocatalysts for water purification applications, offering improved stability, repeatability, andenhanced photocatalytic efficiency.

Topics

• Deposition
• nanocomposite
• impedance spectroscopy
• surface
• Silicon