With growing environmental concerns and the need for sustainable energy, multifunctional materials that can simultaneously address water treatment and clean energy production are in high demand. In this study, we developed a cost-effective method to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires via the anodic oxidation of zinc foil. By carefully controlling the anodization time, we optimized the Zn/ZnO-5 min electrode to achieve impressive dual-function performance in terms of effective photoelectrocatalysis for water splitting and waste water treatment. The electrode exhibited a high photocurrent density of 1.18 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE and achieved a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.55%. A key factor behind this performance is the presence of surface defects, such as oxygen vacancies (OVs), which enhanced charge separation and boosted electron transport. In tests for waste water treatment, the Zn/ZnO-5 min electrode demonstrated the highly efficient degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye, with a reaction rate constant of 0.4211 min−1 when exposed to light and a 1.0 V applied voltage significantly faster than using light or voltage alone. Electrochemical analyses, including impedance spectroscopy and voltammetry, further confirmed the superior charge transfer properties of the electrode under illumination, making it an excellent candidate for both energy conversion and pollutant removal. This study highlights the potential of using simple anodic oxidation to produce scalable and efficient ZnO-based photocatalysts. The dual-function capability of this material could pave the way for large-scale applications in renewable hydrogen production and advanced waste water treatment, offering a promising solution to some of today’s most pressing environmental and energy challenges.

Direct growth of NiCo₂O₄ on 3D textile and wavy carbon cloth (CC) using facile and low-cost electrodeposition results in the creation of distinct morphologies. The homogeneity and conformality of the coating of NiCo₂O₄ on CC can be readily controlled by adjusting or optimizing the electrodeposition parameters as shown by SEM and TEM images. Various loadings of NiCo₂O₄ were prepared under different conditions. The electrochemical characterization measurements for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) show that hierarchical NiCo₂O₄ on CC has a low onset potential at 270mV, low overpotential of 290mV at 10mA/cm², and low electron transfer resistance across the electrode and electrolyte. NiCo₂O₄/CC electrode showed excellent stability when evaluated for 500 hours. This synthesis method holds high potential for large-scale electrode fabrication on carbon substrates. The method is comprised of controllable optimizing parameters that can readily affect the materials catalytic performance.