Yeast-Assisted synthesis of praseodymium-doped CuMn₂O₄/Ti₃C₂Tₓ nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic oxygen evolution under simulated solar irradiation

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Abstract
Developing efficient and environmentally sustainable photocatalysts for solar-driven water oxidation remains an important challenge in photocatalytic energy conversion. Here, CuMn₂O₄, Pr-doped CuMn₂O₄, Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene, and their heterostructured nanocomposites were synthesized through a green yeast-assisted route, where yeast served as an environmentally benign capping agent for the preparation of stable nanostructured materials. The crystal structure, morphology, optical properties, elemental composition, and surface characteristics of the synthesized photocatalysts were investigated using different analyses. Their photocatalytic activity was evaluated through oxygen evolution under simulated solar irradiation. Among the investigated samples, the Pr-CuMn₂O₄/Ti₃C₂Tₓ (1:1) nanocomposite exhibited the highest oxygen evolution yield (7.2 μmol), compared with CuMn₂O₄/Ti₃C₂Tₓ (6.2 μmol), Pr-CuMn₂O₄/Ti₃C₂Tₓ (1:2) (6.6 μmol), and Pr-CuMn₂O₄/Ti₃C₂Tₓ (2:1) (6.9 μmol). The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the reduced optical band gap (1.4 eV), higher specific surface area, and the intimate interfacial contact between Pr-CuMn₂O₄ and Ti₃C₂Tₓ, which collectively promote visible-light harvesting and interfacial charge transfer. In addition, the intimate coupling between Pr-CuMn₂O₄ and Ti₃C₂Tₓ is expected to facilitate interfacial charge transport, thereby contributing to the enhanced oxygen evolution activity. These findings demonstrate that integrating Pr-doped CuMn₂O₄ with Ti₃C₂Tₓ through a green synthetic strategy provides an effective approach for designing visible-light-responsive photocatalysts for solar-driven oxygen evolution.

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