Modification of Silicon Nanowires with Flower‐Like Metal Particles and its Efficacy as Textile Dye Remover from Water

Abstract

Water contamination due to significant industrialization and urbanization has drawn the attention of numerous researchers to water remediation techniques like photocatalysis. The intriguing characteristics of silicon nanowires (SiNWs), like light trapping and catalytic activity for the removal of textile dyes, have drawn attention to this material. In this work, the synthesis of SiNWs and their modifications with metal particles like copper or silver with different concentrations has been reported. Metal‐assisted chemical etching, a cost‐effective and easy method, is used to synthesis SiNWs with an optimized aspect ratio. The as‐prepared materials and it photocatalysis performance are studied by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission and transmission electron microscope (FESEM, TEM), and UV–visible spectroscopy. The XRD confirms the presence of the copper particles on SiNWs. The FESEM image reveals the formation of flower‐like structures with different morphologies for silver and copper‐modified SiNWs. The as‐prepared samples have shown efficacy in removing Rhodamine‐B by the process of photocatalysis under irradiation with UV light. It has been observed that when the concentration of the copper nanoparticles is increased, a significant increase in the photocatalytic activity is obtained. The removal efficiency came within the range of 50–65%.