Dual-heterojunction engineering in hierarchical Au-modified NiO/CeO2 core-shell nanofibers for enhanced photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial action

In photocatalytic processes, rapid charge transfer, abundant active sites, and high sunlight utilization efficiency in photocatalysts are crucial for achieving superior performance. This study designed and prepared NiO/CeO 2 p-n heterojunction hollow nanofibers for photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial applications. The CeO 2 hollow nanofibers, fabricated by electrospinning and calcination, served as a substrate for the in situ growth of Ni(OH) 2 precursors via an oil-bath method. After calcination, these transformed into uniformly coated NiO nanosheets, resulting in NiO/CeO 2 core–shell heterostructures. The incorporation of a p-n heterojunction and the hollow architecture collectively enhanced charge separation and light absorption. To further improve the photocatalytic efficiency, gold nanoparticles were introduced to construct an interfacial Schottky barrier, providing an additional pathway for suppressing electron-hole recombination. The synergistic effect between the p-n heterojunction and the Schottky junction substantially enhanced the overall photocatalytic activity. Under solar irradiation, the catalyst achieves degradation efficiencies of 96.3% for Rhodamine B (RhB) and 97.8% for tetracycline (TC) within 90 min, while demonstrating a 99.9% bacterial inactivation rate against E. coli in 20 min. This study provides an effective strategy for designing high-performance photocatalytic catalysts.