《Photocatalytic ozonation inactivation of bioaerosols by NiFeOOH nanosheets in situ grown on nickel foam》

Website： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.122273

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ABSTRACT：

Inactivation of bioaerosols is critical to prevent the spread of microbial pathogens in air. Photocatalytic inactivation processes are environmental friendliness, while time-consuming and insufficient reactive oxygen species (ROSs) generation to irreversibly inactivate bacteria in bioaerosols. In this work, a novel photocatalytic ozonation (PCO) system was constructed, consisting of in situ grown NiFeOOH nanosheets on nickel foam (NiFeOOH NSs/NF) and trace concentration of ozone (O₃). Specifically, the PCO system exhibited remarkable photocatalytic inactivation efficiency (99.99%) within an ultrashort retention time of 8.07 s (RH = 90%) while no bacteria survived after 24-h cultivation. The irreversible inactivation of bacteria in this PCO system attributes to the synergistic effect of physical destruction by NiFeOOH NSs/NF and oxidative damage by photogenerated ROSs. This research provides a better alternative for efficient inactivation of bioaerosols and opens the door for the application of PCO system in reducing the exposure risk of bioaerosols.