Green Synthesis of Semiconductors and Environmental Applications

Abstract

This chapter focuses on advancements in the green synthesis approach for nanomaterials and their environmental applications. The eco-friendly, cost-effective, and simple synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles on the environmental applications are discussed. The first section presents an introduction with the basic topics of the green materials synthesis. The second section summarizes the green chemical methods through different routes (precipitation synthesis, electrospinning synthesis, reflux condensation synthesis, hydrothermal, microwave-assisted hydrothermal methods) and the green routes using biological systems from biosynthetic process to synthesize nanoparticles and biosynthesis of passivating nanofilms using spontaneous formation. In the third section, the environmental and energy applications of nanomaterials, including solar cells, photocatalysis, and biohydrogen production are discussed. Therefore, the scientific community can experience the relation of the achieved nanomaterials with their plentiful application possibilities onto the environmental remediation.

Facile Formation of Sulfurized Nanorod‐Like ZnO/Zn(OH)2 and Hierarchical Flower‐Like γ‐Zn(OH)2/ϵ‐Zn(OH)2 from a Green Synthesis and Application as Luminescent Solar Concentrator

“…[15,16] Their properties facilitate the re-emission of longer wavelength emission, whose orientation is strictly conducted to the PV cells at the edge of the LSC. [17][18][19] ZnO nanostructures (NSs) are one of the most famous II-IV semiconductors and have interesting properties such as nontoxicity, low cost, good environmental compatibility, transparency, diverse morphologies, wide direct band gap (about 3.3 eV) at room temperature, large exciton binding energy of 60 meV, high surface-to-volume ratio, high electron mobility, high photon utilization efficiency, fast photoinduced electron transport rates, and high catalytic activity. Thus, it is prominent material for broad applications, such as solar cells, photocatalysis, optical sensors, field-effect transistors, transparent conducting films, light-emitting diodes, antibacterial material, and UV-blockers as sunscreens.…”

“…Inorganic semiconductors with smaller diameters have been reported to be less degradable due to their high chemical and photostability and tunable emission wavelength whose overlap between absorption and emission spectra is minimized in LSCs [15,16] . Their properties facilitate the re‐emission of longer wavelength emission, whose orientation is strictly conducted to the PV cells at the edge of the LSC [17–19] …”