Visible light-activated 1-D core-shell paramagnetic Fe-Ag@AgCl as an innovative method for photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 11; pp. 11990 - 12000
• Main Authors: Cui, Yanping, Thathsarani, Nimesha, Peng, Liang, Gao, Ya, Lei, Lidan, Zhou, Zhengwei, Liang, Lili, Shi, Xiaoyan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Catalysis; Cell death; Deactivation; Diameters; Disinfection; E coli; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Escherichia coli; Ferric chloride; Inactivation; Iron chlorides; Irradiation; Light; Light irradiation; Magnetic fields; Magnetic permeability; Magnetic properties; Membrane permeability; Membranes; Oxidation; Photocatalysis; Polycarbonate; Recombination; Research Article; Scanning electron microscopy; Silver; Silver chloride; Silver Compounds; Spectroscopy; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; X-ray diffraction; Visible light responsive; Photocatalytic antibacterial; Magnetic photocatalysts; 1-D core-shell
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-07754-z

Innovative paramagnetic one-dimensional (1-D) core-shell Fe-Ag@AgCl visible light-driven photocatalysts are synthesized through a template-assisted electrodeposition method trailed by FeCl 3 in-situ oxidation. The metallic nature of Fe-Ag@AgCl is confirmed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and crystal nature through X-ray diffraction (XRD). The controllable diameter of Fe-Ag is obtained through the selection of hollow size of the polycarbonate (PC) template. Electron impedance spectroscopy (EIS) confirms through the introduction of Fe to the Ag core that has prolonged the recombination of electron and hole. Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) are employed as the target bacteria to evaluate the photocatalytic disinfection performances. A total of 1.30 mg of Fe-Ag@AgCl is proved to be able to completely inactivate 10 7  CFU (colony forming units)/mL after 120 min of visible light irradiation. The transition electron microscopy (TEM) confirms the stability of the material after the photo reaction. As Fe-Ag@AgCl possesses magnetic properties, the material is recovered through the application of an external magnetic field. SEM images and results of 3D emission extraction matrix (EEM) depict that the bacteria cell death is caused by membrane permeability changes caused by the reduction of membrane associated proteins.