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When wastewater becomes the key to the technological future.
Scientists from China have developed an innovative method for cleaning wastewater from organic pollutants using bacteria activated by sunlight. During the purification process, scientists get valuable chemical compounds. This approach can become the basis for eco-friendly and sustainable production of important semiconductor materials.
The study was led by Professor Gao Xiang of the Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Lu Lu of the Harbin Institute of Technology in Shenzhen. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Sustainability on October 16.
Traditionally, semiconductors that are the backbone of the high-tech industry are produced chemically or physically under ultra-pure 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 food 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 food.
A group of researchers modified Vibrio natriegens so that this microorganism could assimilate sulfates from the external environment and release hydrogen sulfide gas. The latter, in turn, interacted with metal ions in the wastewater, forming nanoparticles of semiconductors.
Nanoparticles, which are also called quantum dots, were a central part of the scientific achievement for which other researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.
Professor Gao emphasized that this biohybrid system approach can become an efficient and cost-effective method for producing high-value quantum dots.
The team of scientists stated: "Biohybrids of semiconductors combine the best characteristics of biological catalysts and semiconductor nanomaterials, enabling industrial microbial plants to use solar energy for chemical production."
Scientists from China have developed an innovative method for cleaning wastewater from organic pollutants using bacteria activated by sunlight. During the purification process, scientists get valuable chemical compounds. This approach can become the basis for eco-friendly and sustainable production of important semiconductor materials.
The study was led by Professor Gao Xiang of the Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Lu Lu of the Harbin Institute of Technology in Shenzhen. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Sustainability on October 16.
Traditionally, semiconductors that are the backbone of the high-tech industry are produced chemically or physically under ultra-pure 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 food 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 food.
A group of researchers modified Vibrio natriegens so that this microorganism could assimilate sulfates from the external environment and release hydrogen sulfide gas. The latter, in turn, interacted with metal ions in the wastewater, forming nanoparticles of semiconductors.
Nanoparticles, which are also called quantum dots, were a central part of the scientific achievement for which other researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry this year.
Professor Gao emphasized that this biohybrid system approach can become an efficient and cost-effective method for producing high-value quantum dots.
The team of scientists stated: "Biohybrids of semiconductors combine the best characteristics of biological catalysts and semiconductor nanomaterials, enabling industrial microbial plants to use solar energy for chemical production."
