Cu- and Bi-codoped LaFeO3-Decorated MXene Nanosheets for Photo-Fenton Catalysis and Hydrogen Evolution

The increasing release of contaminants into the environment and the demand for sustainable energy solutions have prompted the exploration of advanced oxidation methods such as photo-Fenton and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Herein, hierarchical heterostructures of Cu- and Bi-codoped LaFeO₃ (Bi_0.05La_0.95Cu_0.1Fe_0.9O₃) (LFOBC)-decorated Ti₃C₂ (MXene) nanosheets were developed by a low-cost one-pot combustion approach. The optimized LFOBC/Mx-7 (Bi_0.05La_0.95Cu_0.1Fe_0.9O₃/Ti₃C₂-7) composite demonstrated superior photo-Fenton degradation of tetracycline (TC), achieving 1.69 times higher efficiency than LFOBC and 10.65 times more efficiency than pristine LaFeO₃ (LFO). This enhanced performance is attributed to strong interfacial coupling, which suppressed photoexcited carrier recombination, as confirmed by PL, TRPL, EIS, and photocurrent studies. Experimental and theoretical work function analyses revealed band bending and the formation of an Ohmic junction at the interface. Furthermore, a degradation mechanism and a reaction pathway were proposed, and the reduction in toxicity levels was identified. The LFOBC/Mx-7 catalyst also exhibited promising results for H₂ evolution with an overpotential of 156 mV vs RHE under visible-light illumination, which was 2.37 times less than that of LFOBC. These results, therefore, showcase the LFOBC/Mx composite as a multifunctional photocatalyst for both pollutant degradation and sustainable energy generation.