Construction of hierarchical NCMTs@MoO2/FeNi3 tubular heterostructures for enhanced performance in catalysis and protein adsorption

Abstract

A new type of hybrid material (NCMTs@MoO₂/FeNi₃) with a multi-layer heterostructure was designed and fabricated via a one-step pyrolysis process using FeOOH/NiMoO₄@PDA as the precursor. FeOOH/NiMoO₄@PDA was prepared by the solvothermal method, followed by the nickel-ion etching method coupled with the polymerization of dopamine (DA). The as-obtained material was made of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes embedded with FeNi₃ and MoO₂ nanoparticles (NPs). Notably, the FeNi₃ NPs exhibited significantly improved performance in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and adsorption of histidine-rich protein as well as provided appropriate magnetism resources. The MoO₂ NPs imparted a metallic nature with excellent conductivity, and the N-doped mesoporous carbon microtubes also improved conductivity and facilitated mass transfer, thus leading to enhanced performance in catalysis. Benefiting from the 1D hierarchical porous structure and compositional features, the NCMTs@MoO₂/FeNi₃ composites exhibited excellent performance in 4-NP reduction and protein adsorption via specific metal affinity between the polyhistidine groups of proteins and the FeNi₃ NPs. The result presented here indicates that the strategy of combining tailored components, heterostructuring, and carbon integration is a promising way to obtain high-performance composites for other energy-related applications.