Role of quantum dots nanoparticles in the chemical treatment of colored wastewater: Catalysts or additional pollutants

The objective of the study was to investigate the presence and the activity of quantum dots nanoparticles in colored wastewaters. The special interest is devoted to the investigation of their role in the typical treatment of water or wastewater, studying their influence on the effectiveness of applied treatments methods. The standard chemical processes for water treatment and disinfection (direct UV photolysis and direct ozonation) were applied for the degradation of colored organic pollutant, reactive azo dye, in the presence/absence of CdSe/ZnS core-shells quantum dots. The obtained results indicated that investigated nanoparticles inhibit the overall efficiency of applied processes, especially in the case of direct UV photolysis, although catalytic effect might be expected in part due to the semiconductor nature of quantum dots. Such results lead to a conclusion that CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles behave as additional pollutants in the system. They should be removed from the system prior the treatment, because their presence could decrease the efficiency, i.e., prolong the time of treatment and correspondingly increase the costs of the treatment process.