Abstract

A facile photo-assisted strategy was developed for the in situ anchoring of Co2+ ions onto anatase TiO2nano-particles through photoinduced electron transfer under UV irradiation, enabling the formation of stable Co-O-Ti interfacial bonds while preserving the anatase crystal structure. The Co2+-implanted TiO2nanoparticles were synthesized using the [Co(tn)2(4-Mepy)Br]Br2complex as a precursor in an aqueous electrolyte under UV irradiation and subsequently characterized by XRD, TEM, EDS, FTIR, and XPS analyses, confirming the successful implantation of cobalt under mild reaction conditions. The resulting Co-TiO2 nanoparticles exhibited pronounced room-temperature ferromagnetism, with saturation magnetizations (Ms) of 7.88 & times; 10-3 and 55.41 & times; 10-3 mu B per Co2+ and coercive fields (Hc) of 50.39 and 622.91 Oe for 0.37% and 0.68% Co doping, respectively, in contrast to the diamagnetic behaviour of pristine TiO2. In addition to the enhanced magnetic properties, the Co-TiO2heterostructures exhibited bifunctional electrocatalytic activity toward both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media, delivering over-potentials of 277.3 and 328.6 mV at 10 mA cm-2 with corresponding Tafel slopes of 89.7 and 94.2 mV dec-1 , respectively. The present facile room-temperature strategy simultaneously tailors the magnetic and electrocatalytic properties of TiO2, highlighting the potential of Co-TiO2 nanostructures for multifunctional magnetic and energy-conversion applications.