Synthesis of Bi/Bi₂O₃@Al₂O₃ nanocomposites for wastewater treatment, corrosion resistance, and self-cleaning properties, it is imperative to carefully combine and analyze various elements for the optimization of catalyst performance.

Hydrogen fuel is a clean and versatile energy carrier that can be used for various applications, including transportation, power generation, and industrial processes. Electrocatalytic water splitting could be the most beneficial and facile approach for producing hydrogen. In this work, transition metal selenide composites with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been investigated for electrocatalytic water splitting. The synthesis process involved the facile one-step hydrothermal growth of transition metal nanoparticles over the CNTs and acted as an efficient electrode toward electrochemical water splitting. Scanning electron microscopy and XRD patterns reveal that nanoparticles were firmly anchored on the CNTs, resulting in the formation of composites. The electrochemical measurements reveal that CNT composite with nickel–cobalt selenides (NiCo-Se/CNTs@NF) display remarkable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in basic media, which is an important part of hydrogen production. It demonstrates the lowest overpotential (η_10mAcm⁻²) of 0.560 V vs. RHE, a reduced Tafel slope of 163 mV/dec, and lower charge transfer impedance for the OER process. The multi-metallic selenide composite with CNTs demonstrating unique nanostructure and synergistic effects offers a promising platform for enhancing electrocatalytic OER performance and opens up new avenues for efficient energy conversion and storage applications.

Artificial superhydrophobic surfaces that do not absorb water, like the lotus leaf, show tremendous promise in numerous applications. However, superhydrophobic surfaces are rarely used because of their low stability and endurance. A stable organic superhydrophobic surface (SHS) composed of novel morphology Ag-nanoparticles (NPs) has been fabricated on a copper alloy via etching, immersion, spraying, and annealing treatment, along with a static water contact angle (WCA) of 158 ± 1° and sliding angle (SA) less than 2°. The surface texture, composition, and morphology of the substrate surfaces were explored by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and DFT-based Ag atom distribution. The anti-corrosion study of non-coated and Ag-NP-coated copper alloy was undertaken using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Ag-NPs +SA@SHS enhanced the corrosion resistance as compared with bare Cu alloy. The water droplet rolled down the coated Cu alloy, removed the chalk powder from the surface, and indicated an excellent self-cleaning function. Photodegradation of Congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB) dye samples was assessed by measuring the absorbance through UV-Visible spectrophotometry, where the Ag-NPs coated on the copper alloy were used as a catalyst. The performance of the SHS@Ag-NPs in the aqueous solution was 99.31% and 98.12% for industrial pollutants (CR and MB), with degradation rates of 5.81 × 10⁻² s⁻¹ and 5.89 × 10⁻² s⁻¹, respectively. These findings demonstrated a simple, rapid, and low-energy fabrication technique for SHS@Ag-NPs. This research reveals a valuable approach for the fabrication of SHS@Ag-NPs on various substrates to extend the superhydrophobic surfaces with ultra-fast self-healing properties, for outdoor applications such as anti-corrosion, for an innovative approach for the remediation of polluted water treatment, and for industrial applications.