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• Direct dual Z-scheme TiO-WO 3 -CeO 2 heterostructured nanocomposite successfully synthesized by co-precipitation route. • The nanocomposite TiO-WO 3 -CeO 2 showed boosted photocatalytic activity towards different pollutants. • Systematic investigations confirmed the superior charge separation by direct dual Z-scheme. • Enhanced antibacterial activity of nanocomposite against various pathogenic bacterial strain. • The higher super-capacitive behaviour of nanocomposite. [Display omitted] Direct dual Z-scheme heterostructured nanocomposite TiO 2 -WO 3 -CeO 2 (NC) and pristine metal oxides nanostructures (NSs) were fabricated using a facile co-precipitation route. XRD, FTIR, and Raman data have confirmed the formation of NSs and NC. FESEM images showed quasi-mesoporous morphology of as-grown nanocomposite. EDX analysis confirmed the existence of titanium (Ti), cerium (Ce), and tungsten (W) in grown NC. The energy bandgap of NC was narrow 2.45 eV as compared to NSs. The higher electrical conductivity and lower recombination rate of NC were observed in IV and PL analysis. The photodegradation efficiency of NC was recorded 99.8% after 60 min under sunlight radiation against methylene blue (MB), which was significantly higher than NSs. NC catalyst has shown excellent photodegradation against other organic pollutants and has superior recyclability up to 7th cycle toward MB dye with a ~ 6% deficit in photodegradation efficiency. The antimicrobial activity results indicated the higher inhibition ability of NC against E. coli , K. pneumoniae , S. aureus , P. Vulgaris , and P. aeruginosa with maximum inhibition zone diameter 25, 29, 26, 28, and 27 mm, respectively. The electrochemical tests including CV, EIS, and GCD exhibited the superior capacitive behaviour of NC. These results demonstrate that grown NC is an efficient material for electrochemical devices, water purification, and biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing effective and noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for the grim oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and photocatalysts for pollutant elimination is critical for long-term energy supply and environmental remediation. Herein a simple sol-gel technique is used to synthesize NiO/C60 electrophotocatalyst and is characterized via different state-of-art techniques. All the characteristic analytical studies have discovered that the structural components dramatically increased the OER and photocatalytic activity for grown NiO/C60 nanocomposite. TEM results showed that the C60 uniformly covering NiO has a particle size of 46 nm. NiO/C60 electrocatalyst has outperformed the overpotential of 310 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2. At the applied voltage, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the catalytically active surfaces of NiO/C60 and charge transfer rate are much greater than simple NiO. It was also discovered that the grown nanocomposite remained stable for 30 h without degrading, outlasting numerous recent noble-metal-free electrocatalysts. In addition, the NiO/C60 has also exhibited excellent photocatalytic reduction efficiency for Methylene blue (MB) dye and completely degraded after 40 min under sunlight with the stability of up to six cycles. Our findings show that NiO-based water oxidation electrocatalysts and efficient photocatalysts may now be produced at a low cost with outstanding performance. Recycleable core-shell NiO/C60 photocatalyst and electrocatalyst. [Display omitted] • Development of NiO/C60 core-shell electrocatalyst/photocatalyst. • Lower overpotential 310 mV and Tafel slope 43 mV/dec at 10 mA/cm2 for OER. • Complete MB dye degradation in 40 min under natural sunlight. • Remarkable stability 1500 cycles for OER and 6 cycles for photocatalysis. • Dual-functional, low-cost, noble-metal-free catalyst with outstanding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]