Research on fabrication of Bi2S3 nanowires and their photocatalytic applications in environmental treatment

29/09/2021

Bi2S3 is an environment friendly thin-layer semiconductor with narrow bandgap energy, which has been of interest in research on its great potential for applications in many fields such as new energy, processing environment. In-depth understanding of lattice dynamics is expected to play an important role in finding technological solutions for fabrication, as well as potential applications of Bi2S3 nanocrystals.

Dr. Do Thi Anh Thu and colleagues at Institute of Materials Science have successfully fabricated and synthesized Bi2S3 nanowires with a diameter of 60-80 nm, a length of over 1 µm. The combination of comprehensive simulation calculations based on density function theory and micro Raman spectroscopy has provided an understanding of the lattice dynamics of Bi2S3 nanowires.The authors have shown that the 10 vibrational modes originate from the optical phonon symmetry mode (4Ag + 2B1g + 3B2g + 1B3g), and the spectral peak at 124 cm-1 corresponds to the infrared (IR) mode. Investigation of the photocatalytic performance in the reduction of Cr6+ containing wastewater confirms that Bi2S3 nanowires are a potential candidate for photocatalytic environmental treatment.

Left figure: Micro-Raman spectra of Bi2S3 nanowires with experimental spectrum (red) resolved into modes (blue); right figure: illustrating photocatalytic reduction of Cr6+ on Bi2S3 nanowires

This result of the research team has been published in the international journal The Journal of Physical Chemistry C (IF = 4.18), 125 (2021), "Bi2S3 Nanowires: First-Principles Phonon Dynamics and Their Photocatalytic Environmental Remediation".

Translated by Phuong Ha
Link to Vietnamese version