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Heavy Metals
Published in Abhik Gupta, Heavy Metal and Metalloid Contamination of Surface and Underground Water, 2020
Bismuth (Bi) with an atomic number of 83, an atomic weight of 208.98, and a density of 9.75 g cm–3 is a heavy metal that occurs in nature both as a free metal and in ores. The two major ores are bismutite, which is bismuth subcarbonate [Bi2(CO3)O2], and bismuthinite or bismuth sulfide [(Bi2S3)]. Bismuth in these ores is associated with lead and antimony. The major use of bismuth is in the making of alloys, especially those with low melting points, which are often used in welding. Bismuth telluride is a semiconductor, and several bismuth salts are used in cosmetics and medicines. Bismuth also acts as a catalyst in the production of acrylic fibers, and in fire detectors and extinguishers (Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety 2012).
Inorganic, Coordination and Organometallic Compounds
Published in Suresh C. Ameta, Rakshit Ameta, Garima Ameta, Sonochemistry, 2018
Kiran Meghwal, Sharoni Gupta, Chetna Gomber
Wang et al. (2002) prepared bismuth sulfide nanorods by sonochem- ical method from an aqueous solution of bismuth nitrate and sodium thiosulfate in the presence of complexing agents. Bismuth sulfide nanorods with different diameters and lengths could be obtained by using different complexing agents, including ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, triethanolamine and sodium tartrate. Bi2S3 nanorods have also been successfully prepared by using thioacetamide as the sulphur source. When 20% N,N- dimethylformamide was used as the solvent, higher yield was observed and smaller sizes of Bi2S3 nanorods were obtained. The TEM image revealed that the product consists of needle-shaped nanorods. The diameter of the nanorods ranges from 20 to 30 nm, and the length is about 200-250 nm. This rod-type morphology of the product was possibly due to the inherent chain-type structure of bismuth sulfide.
Environmental and Biological Applications of Nanoparticles
Published in Sunipa Roy, Chandan Kumar Ghosh, Chandan Kumar Sarkar, Nanotechnology, 2017
Kaushik Roy, Chandan Kumar Ghosh, Chandan Kumar Sarkar
Another team of researchers also studied the use of nanomaterials for CT imaging (Rabin et al., 2006). It is known that the current contrast agents of CT imaging are mainly based on iodinated molecules. They can efficiently absorb X-rays but their rapid pharmacokinetics and non-specific distribution have limited their targeting and microvascular performance. This study suggested the use of polymer-coated bismuth sulfide nanoparticles as injectable agents for recording CT images. This material showed better stability and appreciable X-ray absorption ability along with long circulation times (>2 hours) and safety profile compared to conventionally used iodinated agents. This result proves the efficacy of these polymer-coated nanoparticles for improved in vivo imaging of lymph nodes, liver, and vascular system in mice. These particles and their conjugates are anticipated to be a significant adjunct to bioimaging of cellular targets and other physiological conditions in the near future.
Microwave-assisted fabrication of g-C3N4 nanosheets sustained Bi2S3 heterojunction composites for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol
Published in Environmental Technology, 2021
Dasari Ayodhya, Guttena Veerabhadram
Over the past decades, the metal chalcogenides based semiconductor catalysts are extensively used catalytic, solar energy conversion, and continue to attract great intensive interest in the environmental field due to their unique structural, optical and electronic properties in addition to low-cost [10]. The several metal chalcogenides including ZnS, CdS, Ag2S, CuS, PbS, MoS2, and Bi2S3 have found potential applications in catalytic, photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting [11–16]. Among them, bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) is a direct bandgap semiconductor (Eg = 1.3 eV) and has a layered structure, where different layers are interconnected by week intermolecular Bi-S bonds [17]. By virtue of its layered structure, it has been proven to exhibit good catalytic activity. Apart from catalysis, it is also a potential candidate for various device applications such as solar cells, photodetectors, and thermoelectrics [18–20]. Importantly, it has been widely used as a visible-light sensitizer to tune the light response, which can be done by either with the formation of the heterojunction structure by coupling two or more different catalysts and improve their photocatalytic performance [21]. The various heterojunctions Bi2S3 like Bi2S3/BiOCl [22], Bi2S3/Bi2WO6 [23], Bi2S3/BiVO4 [24], Bi2S3/(BiO)2CO3 [25], Bi2S3/BiFeO3 [26] and Bi2S3/ZnO [27] has been synthesized for harnessing visible light for various photocatalytic applications. However, the catalytic activity of such zero-dimensional materials is affected by the inherent limitations such as aggregation, photocorrosion, and low separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs [27]. Therefore, two-dimensional nanosheet-based heterostructured materials with a promising interface that can tackle these referred shortcomings are still highly demanded due to its outstanding properties such as high surface area, visible light absorption, high charge separation efficiency as well as prominent electrical conductivity [28].