Photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria under visible light irradiation by BiFeO 3 photocatalyst

Abstract

BiFeO 3 nanoparticles was synthesized by sol gel auto combustion. The as-synthesized BiFeO 3 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The disinfection activities towards Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) were examined under visible light irradiation. The results showed a complete inactivation of 3 × 10 6 CFU/mL S.aureus was achieved within 20 min. The disruption of bacterial cell structure was observed by Transmission electron microscope (TEM). The cells were severely damaged after being exposed to BiFeO 3 under visible light irradiation. Hence, the results demonstrated the potential application of perovskite-type photocatalyst, BiFeO 3 in photocatalytic disinfection of various microorganisms.