Two-dimensional reduced siloxene metal-free semiconductor for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Photocatalytic degradation is an advanced process which utilizes light for degradation of organic pollutants. In this study, we have investigated the photocatalytic properties of reduced siloxene nanosheets for the removal of dyes from wastewater. Reduction of siloxene resulted in a decreased bandgap from 2.7 to 2.3 eV, allowing for better absorption of visible light, and quenched photoluminescence, indicating increased efficiency in the utilization of the absorbed light energy for photocatalytic reactions. The catalytic activity of the reduced siloxene nanosheets followed a pseudo-second-order model and exhibited an adsorption capacity of 9.6 mg/g for Methylene Blue Dye (MB). Our results demonstrate that reduced siloxene nanosheets have significant potential as an efficient and effective catalyst for removing organic pollutants from wastewater. The reduction induced changes in the bandgap and photoluminescence quenching contributed to enhanced increase in catalytic activity (78%) as compared to the siloxene (53%).