Metal-organic frameworks with photocatalytic bactericidal activity for integrated air cleaning

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 2177
• Main Authors: Li, Ping, Li, Jiazhen, Feng, Xiao, Li, Jie, Hao, Yuchen, Zhang, Jinwei, Wang, Hang, Yin, Anxiang, Zhou, Junwen, Ma, Xiaojie, Wang, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 16.05.2019; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Air Filters; Air Microbiology; Air pollution; Air pollution control; Air purification; Airborne bacteria; Airborne microorganisms; Antibiotics; Bactericidal activity; Biocides; Catalysis - radiation effects; Charge transfer; Deactivation; Disinfection; Disinfection - methods; E coli; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Filters; Imidazoles - chemistry; Imidazoles - pharmacology; Inactivation; Irradiation; Light; Metal-organic frameworks; Metal-Organic Frameworks - chemistry; Metal-Organic Frameworks - pharmacology; Metal-Organic Frameworks - radiation effects; Metals; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Outdoor air quality; Oxygen - metabolism; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Photocatalysis; Photoelectrons; Pollution; Pollution control; Porosity; Public health; Radiation; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - pharmacology; X-Ray Diffraction; Zinc; Zinc - chemistry; Zinc - pharmacology
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10218-9

Air filtration has become an essential need for passive pollution control. However, most of the commercial air purifiers rely on dense fibrous filters, which have good particulate matter (PM) removal capability but poor biocidal effect. Here we present the photocatalytic bactericidal properties of a series of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and their potentials in air pollution control and personal protection. Specifically, a zinc-imidazolate MOF (ZIF-8) exhibits almost complete inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) (>99.9999% inactivation efficiency) in saline within 2 h of simulated solar irradiation. Mechanistic studies indicate that photoelectrons trapped at Zn centers within ZIF-8 via ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) are responsible for oxygen-reduction related reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which is the dominant disinfection mechanism. Air filters fabricated from ZIF-8 show remarkable performance for integrated pollution control, with >99.99% photocatalytic killing efficiency against airborne bacteria in 30 min and 97% PM removal. This work may shed light on designing new porous solids with photocatalytic antibiotic capability for public health protection.