(545a) Modeling and Experimental Approach Towards of Photoelectrocatalytic Bacterial Inactivation of E.coli Using Vertically Aligned ZnO/CuI for Water Treatment

Microbial contamination is one of the major issue in water treatment, causing tons of water-borne diseases. Therefore, an excellent type-2 staggered band aligned composite ZnO/CuI was grown/ immobilized on FTO conducting substrate for microbial inactivation by photoelectrocatalysis. Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods were modified in other morphologies via hydrothermal approach. Thereafter, incorporation of CuI was achieved on the optimized morphology using SILAR (successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction) method. The synergistic effect of the composite was observed for E. coli inactivation with respect to ZnO and CuI. Various characterizations such as X-ray diffraction, diffused reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence, ultraviolet photoelectron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were carried out for phase purity, band gaps of the semiconductor, charge carrier lifetime and defects in the semiconductor, band edge positions, oxidation states of the elements, morphology of the synthesised photocatalyst, respectively. The mechanism of the charge transfer dynamics was derived based on the scavenger studies and band edge determination. Significant enhancement in the absorption wavelength and suppressed recombination gives rise to the augmented charge separation and better photoactivity of the composite. The experimental data is plotted with the help of the model derived for photoelecrocatalytic inactivation of bacteria. Bacterial inactivation mechanism was confirmed by various methods such as K⁺ ion leaching, thiobarbituric acid assay for detection of lipid per oxidation. This present work opens the doors to explore this composite for wide area of application in the field of nanotechnology.