Ni-doped ZnO nanorods/Ti3C2 MXene composites and their photocatalytic performance

Herein, composites based on Ni-doped ZnO nanorods and Ti3C2 MXene structure (Ni-ZnO NR/Ti3C2) were produced via a simple hydrothermal method for photocatalytic applications. Special attention was paid to their structural and optical properties. The composite exhibited a photocatalytic effectiveness of 88.2% in degrading methyl orange (MO) within a duration of 75 minutes when exposed to a xenon lamp. The enhancement of the catalytic activity was due to the one-dimensional ZnO nanostructure, the Ni doping, and the Schottky heterojunction is formed by the interface within ZnO and Ti3C2. Therefore, this work provides an effective strategy to fabricate metal oxide/MXene photocatalysts.