Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO<sub>2</sub>/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation

Meiqi Wang; Yiqing Tang; Juan Liu; Xinyue Feng; Zheng Kuang; Yingnan Qin; Jing Tian; Ning Wang; Jing Wang

doi:10.1038/s41377-026-02328-z

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Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO₂/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation

Original Articles

- Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO₂/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 8, Pages: 2598-2610(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
  2.State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Polymer and Manufacturing Technology, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
- Author bio：
  
  Jing Tian (tianjing@qust.edu.cn)
  Ning Wang (04031@qust.edu.cn)
  Jing Wang (wangjing04032@qust.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-026-02328-z
  CLC：
- Received：23 December 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-03-28，
  
  Accepted：20 April 2026，
  
  Online First：11 May 2026，
  
  Published：31 August 2026
- Accepted：
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Wang, M. Q. et al. Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO₂/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2598-2610 (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02328-z.
DOI：

Wang, M. Q. et al. Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO₂/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2598-2610 (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41377-026-02328-z. DOI：

摘要

Abstract

Corrosion and biofouling of me

tals in marine environments are critical issues affecting the long-term stability of marine engineering infrastructure. Traditional protection methods suffer from limitations such as high energy consumption and environmental pollution. Photoelectrochemical cathodic protection (PECCP) technology utilizes solar energy to drive the transfer of photogenerated electrons from semiconductors to metal surfaces

enabling green and low-energy-consumption corrosion protection. However

its core challenge lies in developing efficient and stable photoelectrode materials. In this study

a TiO

/CoNi-LDH composite photoanode was fabricated via hydrothermal and electrodeposition methods. It was found that under illumination

CoNi-LDH undergoes in situ reconstruction to generate CoOOH as a cocatalyst. The composite material exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection performance in a simulated seawater environment

providing a potential shift of 380 mV for coupled 304 stainless steel under intermittent illumination. Simultaneously

it demonstrated high antibacterial efficiency

achieving a 100% inactivation rate against

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

within 120 min. Structural characterization and theoretical calculations revealed that the in situ formation of CoOOH enhances interfacial charge transfer and promotes the generation of reactive oxygen species

thereby synergistically improving the anti-corrosion and anti-biofouling performance of the material. This study provides a novel strategy for developing integrated marine protective materials with long-term corrosion resistance and biofouling prevention capabilities.

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references

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Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO2/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation

DOI：10.1038/s41377-026-02328-z

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references

Light-induced in situ reconstruction of CoOOH-modified TiO₂/CoNi-LDH heterojunction photoanode: achieving excellent photoelectrochemical cathodic protection and bacterial inactivation