article · Environmental Technology & Innovation
Industrial synthetic dyes often end up in wastewater, creating hazardous pollution that requires effective treatment methods. Researchers have developed a composite photocatalyst made of silicon nanowires decorated with bismuth nanoparticles to degrade toxic pollutants using light. The silicon nanowires were prepared through chemical etching, and bismuth nanoparticles were added via thermal evaporation. Combining these two elements produced a material that absorbs more than 97 percent of light across the visible spectrum. When tested on methylene blue dye, the composite degraded 44 percent of the dye under ultraviolet light and 89 percent under solar irradiation within two hours. Furthermore, the material retained its performance over repeated cycles, demonstrating strong stability and reusability for wastewater remediation.
Textile and manufacturing effluents frequently contain toxic synthetic dyes that damage natural aquatic ecosystems. By harnessing solar energy, this reusable composite offers an eco-friendly and potentially cost-effective method to break down harmful dyes in wastewater, reducing the environmental footprint of industrial effluent discharge without requiring complex or unsustainable processing.
This material is aimed at industrial wastewater treatment applications, specifically targeting facilities discharging dye-bearing effluents such as textile plants. Given that the evidence is restricted to laboratory-scale testing on methylene blue in 120-minute cycles, the technology is at an early research stage and would require further scale-up, validation with complex industrial effluents, and reactor engineering before commercial deployment.
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When synthetic dyes are used to embellish the world, the wastewater holding these hazardous materials is wantonly released into the biosphere. Appropriate treatment for such effluents is thereby indispensable. In this context, the present study was conducted to fabricate an eco-friendly, cost-effective and new bismuth modified silicon nanowires (Bi@SiNWs)-based photocatalysts toward superior photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under both UV and solar irradiations. SiNWs were synthesized by silver-assisted chemical etching while Bi nanoparticles were anchored onto the NWs via thermal evaporation. By assessing the morphology, elemental composition, structure and crystallinity characteristics, these Bi@SiNWs nanocomposites are systematically identified. Extensive investigations of blank SiNWs and Bi@SiNWs optical properties — reflectance, transmittance, absorption coefficient, absorbance and optical band-gap — are presented. Near-perfect absorbance above 97%, over the visible wavelength region, has been achieved owing to the synergistic effect of Bi decoration on SiNWs. Accordingly, Bi@SiNWs showed remarkable photocatalytic ability for the degradation of MB up to 44% and 89% under UV and solar irradiation, respectively, only within 120 min. Repeated cycle runs revealed that the Bi@SiNWs composite photocatalyst exhibits strong reusability and photo-stability. Lastly, we will thoroughly provide the plausible mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of MB over Bi@SiNWs. Our outcomes validate the potent role of Bi@SiNWs photocatalysts for effective environmental remediation. • A new Bi-modified SiNWs active photocatalyst was successfully synthesized. • Bi@SiNWs showed near-perfect absorbance feature to above 97%. • Photocatalytic performance of pure MB dyes, SiNWs and Bi@SiNWs under UV and solar irradiations were studied. • Bi@SiNWs exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation of MB up to 89% under solar irradiation. • Cycling capability, photocatalysis mechanism and reactions kinetics of MB decomposition over Bi@SiNWs were investigated.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.eti.2023.103133
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