Photothermal Hyperthermia and Photodegradation Studies of Cu-Si Nanoparticles Synthesized by Laser Ablation in Liquid Media

Abstract

Nanocomposites have many promising applications such as in hyperthermia and photodegradation. Laser ablation-assisted synthesis of nanocomposites offers several advantages such as it is a green synthesis method, cost-effective, ease of handling and absence of any by-products. This study included the fabrication of copper-silicon (Cu-Si) nanocomposites using liquid-phase laser ablation, followed by an investigation into their potential uses in photothermal hyperthermia and photodegradation. The surface properties, chemical composition and crystallinity were examined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Spherical, capsule-like and hexagonal nanoparticles with a size of 28[Formula: see text]nm were observed from transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The near-infrared (NIR) 808[Formula: see text]nm laser was used to obtain the optimum photothermal hyperthermia temperature. At increasing concentrations of nanocomposites and operating laser powers, the temperature trend of nanofluid was monitored and revealed a rising trend. Moreover, an increasing trend in degradation efficiency of methylene green dye was observed, with values of 46.4%, 81.7% and 95.7%, corresponding to photocatalyst doses of 10[Formula: see text]mg, 20[Formula: see text]mg and 30[Formula: see text]mg, respectively. These results shed light on the potential application of contamination-free nanocomposites for hyperthermia and photodegradation.