Scientists from China have developed an innovative method for cleaning wastewater from organic pollutants using bacteria activated by sunlight. In the process of cleaning, scientists receive valuable chemical compounds. This approach can become the basis for environmentally friendly and sustainable production of important semiconductor materials.
Research was conducted under the leadership of Professor Gao Syang from the Shenzhensky Institute of Synthetic Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Lu from the Harbin Institute of Technology in Shengen. The results of the work were published in the scientific journal Nature Sustainability on October 16.
Traditionally, semiconductors, which are the basis of a high-tech industry, are produced by a chemical or physical way in ultra-low conditions. However, materials for creating semiconductors can be obtained from wastewater using genetically modified bacteria.
The main problem was the complexity of the composition of industrial wastewater, which served as a power source for bacteria. To solve this problem, the researchers used Vibrio Natriegens – a microorganism adapted to salt water. This microorganism can use more than 200 types of organic materials as a nutrition.
A group of researchers modified Vibrio Natriegens so that this microorganism could assimilate sulfates from the external environment and secrete hydrogen sulfide gas. The latter, in turn, interacted with metal ions in wastewater, forming nanoparticles of semiconductors.
Nanoparticles, which are also called quantum points, turned out to be the central part of the scientific achievement, for which other researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.
Professor GAO emphasized that this biological system approach can become an effective and economically advantageous method for the production of highly valuable quantum points.
The team of scientists said: “The biologicalbrides of semiconductors combine the best characteristics of biological catalysts and semiconductor nanomaterials, allowing industrial microbial plants to use solar energy for chemical production.”