High-photocatalytic activity of PA-MBE grown GaN nanowires for degradation of methylene blue: Influence of the nanowires characteristics and reusability characters
Abstract
Sunlight-driven photocatalysis is a leading, high-efficiency technology for environmental remediation, but it requires the development of novel semiconductor materials with improved structural/optical properties. Thanks to their high surface-to-volume ratio, GaN nanowires (NWs) are excellent photocatalyst candidates. Herein, we investigate the relationship between the GaN NW characteristics grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) and their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the methylene blue at different pH values. Two different sets of samples are considered: GaN NWs surrounded by a 2D-GaN layer at their base and pure GaN NWs. According to X-ray diffraction results, the presence of the 2D-layer at the GaN/Si substrate interface reduces NW tilt and twist, thereby improving optical properties. These improved NW characteristics result in higher reaction rate constants, from 12.19 to 25.51 × 10-4 min-1 corresponding to color removal efficiencies of ~38% and ~ 64%, respectively, after 360 min of simulated sunlight irradiation. Finally, the ability of GaN NWs to degrade organic pollutants in harsh environments (pH 2 and pH 10) was investigated, with results clearly demonstrating that GaN acts as a stable photocatalyst under these conditions, without significant degradation of morphology or optical properties. Our findings suggest that properly engineered nanowires can further improve photodegradation activity under sunlight.
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BibTeX
@article{romanitan2026highphotocatalytic,
title = {{High-photocatalytic activity of PA-MBE grown GaN nanowires for degradation of methylene blue: Influence of the nanowires characteristics and reusability characters}},
author = {Cosmin Romanitan and Noëlle Gogneau and Petronela Pascariu and Oana Brincoveanu and Elias Semlali and Laurent Travers and Amel Zorai and Maria Tchernycheva and Corneliu Cojocaru and Iuliana Mihalache and Bogdan Stefan Vasile and Nikolay Djourelov and Marius Stoian},
journal = {Journal of Physics: Materials},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1088/2515-7639/aeb0d2},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05838351v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - High-photocatalytic activity of PA-MBE grown GaN nanowires for degradation of methylene blue: Influence of the nanowires characteristics and reusability characters
AU - Cosmin Romanitan
AU - Noëlle Gogneau
AU - Petronela Pascariu
AU - Oana Brincoveanu
AU - Elias Semlali
AU - Laurent Travers
AU - Amel Zorai
AU - Maria Tchernycheva
AU - Corneliu Cojocaru
AU - Iuliana Mihalache
AU - Bogdan Stefan Vasile
AU - Nikolay Djourelov
AU - Marius Stoian
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
JO - Journal of Physics: Materials
DO - 10.1088/2515-7639/aeb0d2
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05838351v1
AB - Sunlight-driven photocatalysis is a leading, high-efficiency technology for environmental remediation, but it requires the development of novel semiconductor materials with improved structural/optical properties. Thanks to their high surface-to-volume ratio, GaN nanowires (NWs) are excellent photocatalyst candidates. Herein, we investigate the relationship between the GaN NW characteristics grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) and their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of the methylene blue at different pH values. Two different sets of samples are considered: GaN NWs surrounded by a 2D-GaN layer at their base and pure GaN NWs. According to X-ray diffraction results, the presence of the 2D-layer at the GaN/Si substrate interface reduces NW tilt and twist, thereby improving optical properties. These improved NW characteristics result in higher reaction rate constants, from 12.19 to 25.51 × 10-4 min-1 corresponding to color removal efficiencies of ~38% and ~ 64%, respectively, after 360 min of simulated sunlight irradiation. Finally, the ability of GaN NWs to degrade organic pollutants in harsh environments (pH 2 and pH 10) was investigated, with results clearly demonstrating that GaN acts as a stable photocatalyst under these conditions, without significant degradation of morphology or optical properties. Our findings suggest that properly engineered nanowires can further improve photodegradation activity under sunlight.
SN - 2515-7639
ER -