The DAH proton source assisted Fe2O3–TiO2 system exhibits exceptional photocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen generation by a water-splitting reaction.

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The present paper reports for the first time the development and application of novel Zn wetted CeO 2 (Zn/ CeO 2 ) composite galvanic zinc coating to combat microbial induced corrosion (MIC). Zinc metal−metal interaction causes the effective incorporation of composite into the galvanic coating and accordingly increases the active sites for antibiofouling activity. The developed coatings are explored for their anticorrosion/antibiofouling characteristics toward MIC induced by cultured seawater consortia. Enhanced antibiofouling activity of the composite galvanic coating is achieved due to the tuned content of 28 wt % Zn and 34 wt % of Ce. High charge transfer resistance as high as 4.0 × 10 14 Ω cm 2 and low double layer capacitance as low as 3.99 × 10 −8 F are achieved by tuning the structure and composition of the coating. The synergistic effect of Zn and Ce ensures the stability and corrosion resistance of the coatings in a corrosive bacterial environment. Evident decreases in the bacterial attachment and biofilm formation are illustrated using antibiofouling assay. The antibiofouling activity is attributed to the effective reduction of Ce 4+ to Ce 3+ and the shuttling characteristics of oxidation state of CeO 2 . This impairs the cellular respiration and results in bacterial death. Thus, it can be used as an effective coating to protect the steel based equipment in corrosive marine environments to combat marine microorganisms and their interactions. The present study also paves the scope for exploration of similar effective protective systems.

The present study explores a design strategy of loading active materials into porous cocatalytic supports for accomplishing rapid charge separation for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Herein, a threedimensional ternary heterostructure is developed through in-situ formation of photocatalytically active nanoparticles inside porous Ni templates with exposed NiO as an efficient and stable photocatalyst. The design merit lies in rapid charge separation through NiO cocatalysts and availability of abundant active sites for efficient and sustained hydrogen generation. The introduction of NiO and the coexistence of active phases inside the porous NiO have modified the electronic structure and reduced the charge transfer resistance. This could facilitate the formation of more heterojunctions for faster interfacial charge transfer and enhanced visible light absorption characteristics. The optimal characteristics have enabled the threedimensional ternary heterostructure for realizing a substantial hydrogen generation of 1438 μmol h −1 , with an apparent quantum efficiency of 31.74%. The present methodology opens up new horizons, providing more insights and opportunities for extending contribution to structural designing of hierarchical architectures for largescale energy-related applications.

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