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Photodegradation of methylene blue under UV and visible light irradiation by Er2O3-coated silicon nanowires as photocatalyst

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Abstract

In this paper, we report on the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) using Er2O3-coated silicon nanowires as photocatalyst under UV and visible light irradiation. The silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthesized by Ag-assisted electroless etching on which Er was electrodeposited by Chronoamperometric method. The samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that Er2O3 was uniformly formed on silicon nanowires. The samples showed a high efficiency for the MB photodegradation especially, under UV light irradiation where a degradation rate of 100% was obtained after 90 min.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Algerian Scientific Research and Technology Development (DGRSDT, MESRS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center in Semiconductors Technology for Energetic, CRTSE-02, Bd.Dr.Frantz FANON, B.P.140 Algiers-7, 16038, Merveilles, Algeria

    Afaf Brik, Sabrina Naama, Toufik Hadjersi, Sihem Bouanik & Amar Manseri

  2. Saad Dahlab Blida 1 University - Route de Soumaa, BP 270, Blida, 09000, Algeria

    Afaf Brik & Mohamed El Amine Benamar

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  1. Afaf Brik
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  2. Sabrina Naama
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Correspondence to Afaf Brik.

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Brik, A., Naama, S., Hadjersi, T. et al. Photodegradation of methylene blue under UV and visible light irradiation by Er2O3-coated silicon nanowires as photocatalyst. Reac Kinet Mech Cat 131, 525–536 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-020-01862-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-020-01862-0

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