Synthetic Melanin Hybrid Patchy Nanoparticle Photocatalysts

Rational design and preparation of bioinspired polydopamine (PDA)-based synthetic melanin hybrid materials with well-controlled morphologies and improved properties face a grand challenge at the current situation. Herein, we report the facile fabrication of photocatalytic CdS@PDA patchy nanoparticles with tunable inorganic patchy densities via different Cd²⁺-loaded PDA precursors. Both of “postdoping” and “predoping” strategies can be used to fabricate CdS@PDA hybrid NPs with distinct CdS patchy densities, which could further induce distinct physical properties and catalytic behaviors. Those resulting functional nanocomposites exhibited significantly enhanced photoactivity and photostability toward the catalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. We believe that the excellent adsorption, redox potential, and free-radical scavenging properties of PDA substrates could provide the outstanding photoactivity and photostability for CdS photocatalytic reaction. This work could inspire more kinds of synthetic melanin-based functional hybrids for stable, efficient, and sustainable photocatalysis.