Porous TiO₂ photoelectrodes via laser cladding–electrochemical dealloying: photoelectric and photocatalytic performance

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is an important photocatalytic material, yet its performance is limited by bottlenecks in conventional preparation methods, such as high interfacial resistance and low specific surface area. In this study, a method combining laser cladding with electrochemical dealloying was used to fabricate porous TiO₂/Cu₂O heterojunction photoanodes from a Cu–Ti precursor. This composite structure significantly enhances interfacial charge transfer, reduces the material bandgap by 0.92 eV, and extends the visible-light absorption edge to 544 nm. The optimized photoanode (porous TiO₂@Cu₇₇Ti₂₃) has an ultrahigh electrochemically active surface area (1028 cm²·cm⁻²) while its photocurrent density is 77.1 μA·cm⁻², which is 14 times that of the control sample. Under a bias of 0.3 V, it achieves 79% degradation of methyl orange within 180 min, while retaining more than 90% of its initial activity after 10 cycles. This work provides a scalable new pathway for the preparation of efficient and stable solar-driven photoanodes.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

laser cladding / electrochemical dealloying / photoelectrocatalytic performance / titanium dioxide

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