Suspended and polycaprolactone immobilized Ag @TiO2/polyaniline nanocomposites for water disinfection and endotoxin degradation by visible and solar light-mediated photocatalysis

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 10; pp. 12780 - 12791
• Main Authors: Gadgil, Dhanashri Jayant, Shetty Kodialbail, Vidya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Catalytic activity; Degradation; Disinfectants; Disinfection; E coli; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Endotoxins; Energy gap; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Escherichia coli; Irradiation; Light irradiation; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Polyanilines; Polycaprolactone; Radiation; Research Article; Silver; Titanium dioxide; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Photocatalytic disinfection; Ag@TiO; Nanocomposites; Polyaniline; Endotoxin
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11206-z

In the present study, water contaminated with Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) cells was photocataytically disinfected using Ag core-TiO 2 shell/Polyaniline nanocomposite (Ag@TiO 2 /PANI) under visible light irradiation. Ag@TiO 2 /PANI containing 13 weight % of Ag@TiO 2 was found to offer maximum disinfection activity. Band gap energy of Ag@TiO 2 /PANI was found to be 2.58 eV. Ag@TiO 2 /PANI nanocomposites were efficient in water disinfection in their suspended and immobilized form. Rate of disinfection with Ag@TiO 2 /PANI was faster than that with Ag@TiO 2 nanoparticles. Water containing 50 × 10 8 CFU/mL cells was completely disinfected within 120 min with 1 g/L Ag@TiO 2 /PANI nanocomposite. Simultaneous disinfection and endotoxins degradation were achieved. The photocatalytic disinfection of water and endotoxin degradation using Ag@TiO 2 /PANI nanocomposite under visible light irradiation followed second order kinetics. The nanocomposite also exhibited a good solar photocatalytic activity.