Investigations of nickel silicate for degradation of water-soluble organic pollutants

An organic pollutant decolorization process will be presented in this study with the help of nickel silicate (Ni₂SiO₄) nanophoto-catalysts which are capable of decolorizing water-soluble pollutants. A diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) technique was used to measure the optical bandgap of Ni₂SiO₄ nanostructures, which had an optical bandgap of 3.25 eV. Based on the data obtained by the IUPAC, the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm is of IV-type with hysteresis H3. According to estimates, nickel silicate nanostructures have a specific surface area of 5.52 m²/g. A number of parameters were carefully considered in order to maximize effectiveness, including different types of samples, dye types, dye concentrations, and Ni₂SiO₄ dosages. In the present study, Ni₂SiO₄ was found to be effective in the degradation of eriochrome black T (EBT) from water. As a result of the use of 70 mg of Ni₂SiO₄ with 10 ppm EBT and the exposure to UV light for 90 min, 91.8% of the eriochrome black T was destroyed. It was demonstrated that superoxide radicals (•O₂⁻) were responsible for the destruction of EBT when Ni₂SiO₄ was used as a photocatalyst. According to the kinetic study, higher performance was obtained with a higher reaction rate constant (k = 0.0258 min-1).