Development of a highly performing heterojunction photoanode is significantly important for photoelectrochemical cells. Herein, a novel strategy is proposed to construct a protonated g-C₃N₄ nanosheets/nitrogen-doped TiO₂ photoanode inspired by polydopamine microspheres. The polydopamine microspheres can enhance the adsorption of protonated g-C₃N₄ nanosheets via electrostatic interaction, facilitating heterojunction formation. Moreover, the addition of the polydopamine microspheres into the preparation process can not only dope a nitrogen element into TiO₂, improving solar energy utilization, but also create a vigorous pore structure in the photoanode, promoting mass transport and light scattering. Besides, the specific surface area can also be increased. Owing to these merits, the photoelectrochemical activity of this newly developed photoanode is greatly improved. Furthermore, the superiority of this photoanode is evaluated by integrating it into a photoelectrochemical cell for simultaneous wastewater treatment and power generation. The maximum power density generated by the newly developed protonated g-C₃N₄ nanosheets/nitrogen-doped TiO₂ photoanode is about 138.5% and 40.9% higher than the TiO₂ photoanode and the protonated g-C₃N₄ nanosheets/TiO₂ photoanode prepared without using the polydopamine microspheres, respectively. The present study provides a novel strategy for developing a highly performing heterojunction photoanode.

中文翻译：

---

PDA微球启发制备质子化g-C3N4纳米片/N掺杂TiO2光阳极用于光电化学电池

高性能异质结光电阳极的开发对于光电化学电池非常重要。在此，受聚多巴胺微球的启发，提出了一种构建质子化gC ₃ N ₄纳米片/氮掺杂TiO ₂光阳极的新策略。聚多巴胺微球可以通过静电相互作用增强质子化的gC ₃ N ₄纳米片的吸附，促进异质结的形成。此外，在制备过程中添加聚多巴胺微球不仅可以将氮元素掺杂到TiO ₂中，提高太阳能利用率，而且可以在光阳极中形成活跃的孔隙结构，促进传质和光散射。此外，还可以增加比表面积。由于这些优点，这种新开发的光电阳极的光电化学活性大大提高。此外，通过将其集成到光电化学电池中以同时进行废水处理和发电，评估了该光阳极的优越性。新开发的质子化gC ₃ N ₄纳米片/氮掺杂TiO _{2光阳极产生的最大功率密度比TiO 2 光}阳极和未经使用制备的质子化gC ₃ N ₄纳米片/TiO ₂光阳极高约138.5%和40.9%分别为聚多巴胺微球。本研究为开发高性能异质结光电阳极提供了一种新策略。