Biosynthesis and characterization of lead selenide semiconductor nanoparticles (PbSe NPs) and its antioxidant and photocatalytic activity
Catherine Sekyerebea Diko, Yuanyuan Qu, Henglin Zhang, Zheng Li, Noor Ahmed Nahyoon, Shuling Fan
Abstract
The current study fabricated novel lead selenide nanoparticles (PbSe NPs) by a simple biological benign process with Trichoderma sp. WL-Go. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transfer infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis, Raman spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the fabricated NPs. Synthesis at pH 8 with 0.5 g biomass of strain WL-Go and (1:1) mM of SeO2: Pb(NO3)2 were the optimal synthesis conditions to achieving 10–30 nm cubic faced centered NPs. The PbSe NPs served as catalyst for investigating the antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and photodegradation ability of rhodamine B dye (10 mg/L). The results indicated that the NPs could eliminate up to 88.60% of free radicals after adding 600 g/mL NPs and could photodegrade 82% of rhodamine B in 30 min. Thus, this study provides new knowledge and strategies for the future use of an environmentally benign bio- catalytic PbSe NPs to efficiently eliminate free radicals and in treatment of persistent organic pollutants in wastewaters.