Influence of single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalization in photocatalytic performance of pyramidal porous silicon: Experimental evidence

Pyramidal porous silicon (pPSi) synthesized through wet-chemical etching of doped silicon wafer with a large surface area and a wide absorption spectrum are used as a photocatalyst for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The photocatalytic activity of pPSi has been enhanced using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The role of the SWCNTs on the observed photocatalytic activity enhancement was investigated by analyzing the effect of carbon nanotubes density. SWCNTs loaded in pyramidal porous silicon exhibits a much important photocatalytic activity (52.21% MB degradation in 90 min) in comparison to bare pPSi (11.51% MB degradation in 90 min) under UV light irradiation. This novel nanocomposite can be used as effective photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and toxic pollutants and thus is of significant interest for water treatment. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.