The present study describes the strategic doping of Fe metal ions into a BiOI microstructure using ex situ and in situ processes to synthesize a Fe–BiOI microstructure and their effect on photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC). The data suggested that in situ Fe–BiOI (Fe–BiOI-In) has superior performance compared to ex situ Fe–BiOI (Fe–BiOI-Ex) due to the uniform dispersion of Fe within the Fe–BiOI material. Calculated bandgaps ∼1.8, ∼1.5, and 2.4 eV were observed for BiOI (without Fe), Fe–BiOI-In, and Fe–BiOI-Ex, respectively. Interestingly, Fe incorporation within BiOI might decrease the bandgap in Fe–BiOI-In due to the uniform distribution of metal ions, whereas increasing the bandgap in Fe–BiOI-Ex attributed to nonuniform distribution or agglomeration of metal ions. The uniform dispersion of Fe within Fe–BiOI modulates electronic properties as well as increases the exposure of Fe ions with TC, thereby higher degradation efficiency of TC. The in situ Fe–BiOI material shows 67 and 100% degradation of TC at 10 and 1 mg/L, respectively. The TC degradation was also found to be pH-dependent; when increasing the pH value up to 10, 94% degradation was achieved at 10 mg/L within 60 min of solar irradiation. The analysis was also performed over BiOI, which proves that Fe has a profound effect on TC degradation as Fe(II) tends to trigger oxidation–reduction by utilizing the chelate formation tendency of TC. Therefore, the prepared Fe–BiOI-In has the potential ability to degrade pharmaceutical compounds, especially, TC from wastewater.

2D-Ms such as graphene, C ₃ N ₄ , and MXene have attracted significant attention due to their excellent physico-chemical properties, thereby extensively used in numerous applications including biocidal agents.

A new class of nano-antibiotic materials must be developed to treat bacterial infectious diseases. In this context, the synthesizing Cu-metal incorporated WS ₂ nanosheet (Cu–WS ₂ -NS)-based antibiotic materials might overcome such associated issues.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, an electrifying family of innovative materials, have recently attracted wide attention due to their remarkable characteristics, primarily their high optical transparency, exceptional metallic conductivity, high mechanical strength, carrier mobility, tunable band gap values, and optimum work function. Interestingly, 2D-nanosheets/nanolayers (2D-NLs) might be synthesized into single/multi-layers using simple processes such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemical bath deposition (CBD), and mechanical and liquid-phase exfoliation processes that simply enhance optoelectronic properties. However, the stability of 2D-NLs is one of the most significant challenges that limits their commercialization. Researchers have been focusing on the stability of 2D-NLs with the aim of developing next-generation solar cells. Easily tunable distinctive 2D-NLs that are based on the synthesis process, surface functional groups, and modification with other materials/hybrid materials thereby improve the stability of the 2D-NLs and their applicability to the hole transport layer (HTL) and the electron transport layer (ETL) in solar cells. Moreover, metal/non-metal-based dopants significantly enhance band gap ability and subsequently improve the efficacy of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this context, research has focused on 2D-NL-based photoanodes and working electrodes that improve the photoconversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of DSSCs. Herein, we mainly focus on synthesizing 2D-NLs, challenges during synthesis, stability, and high-performing DSSCs.