Squeezing Out and Characterization of Silicon from Sand by Mg- Thermite Reduction Process

Background: Sand is one of the efficient sources of silicon. We get quite easily the plethora of sand from the river side, Bangladesh. Utilization of the superfluous sand can be assisted to enhance our economy. Methods: In this work, silicon is extracted from sand by metal–thermite reduction process and the sample of sand is collected from padma river Rajshahi, Bangladesh. The process is environmentally benign and low cost. The reduction of the sand was performed with Mg powder, and purification was done by leaching out with HCl and HF. We have studied the structural properties, chemical nature and physical morphology. Results and Conclusion: X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed that the presence of elemental Si in the samples produced by Mg-thermite reduction process and the particle size was found 25.72±1.3 nm in an average. Surface morphology has been studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the particle size seemed around 30 to 40 nm which was comparable to the obtained particle size from XRD. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) showed the presence of Si-Si bonding in the investigating materials. The chemical nature of the sand has been studied by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Silicon content of sand was found about maximum 80%.