The authors demonstrate, in this work, a fascinating synergism of a high surface area heterojunction between TiO 2 in the form of ordered 1D anodic nanotube layers of a high aspect ratio and ZnO coatings of different thicknesses, produced by atomic layer deposition. The ZnO coatings effectively passivate the defects within the TiO 2 nanotube walls and significantly improve their charge carrier separation. Upon the ultraviolet and visible light irradiation, with an increase of the ZnO coating thickness from 0.19 to 19 nm and an increase of the external potential from 0.4-2 V, yields up to 8-fold enhancement of the photocurrent density. This enhancement translates into extremely high incident photon to current conversion efficiency of %95%, which is among the highest values reported in the literature for TiO 2 based nanostructures. In addition, the photoactive region is expanded to a broader range close to the visible spectral region, compared to the uncoated nanotube layers. Synergistic effect arising from ZnO coated TiO 2 nanotube layers also yields an improved ethanol sensing response, almost 11-fold compared to the uncoated nanotube layers. The design of the high-area 1D heterojunction, presented here, opens pathways for the light-and gas-assisted applications in photocatalysis, water splitting, sensors, and so on.

Prion disorders are fatal neurodegenerative diseases caused by the autocatalytic conversion of a natively occurring prion protein (PrP C ) into its misfolded infectious form (PrP TSE ). The proven resistance of PrP TSE to common disinfection procedures increases the risk of prion transmission in medical settings. Herein, we present the effective photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of prions by disulfonated hydroxyaluminum phthalocyanine (AlPcOH(SO 3 ) 2 ) utilizing two custom-built red light sources. The treatment eliminates PrP TSE signal in infectious mouse brain homogenate with efficiency that depends on light intensity but has a low effect on the overall protein content. Importantly, singlet oxygen (O 2 ( 1 Δ g )) is the only species significantly photogenerated by AlPcOH(SO 3 ) 2 , and it is responsible for the PDI of prions. More intensive light conditions show not only higher O 2 ( 1 Δ g ) production but also decreases in AlPcOH(SO 3 ) 2 photostability. Our findings suggest that PDI by AlPcOH(SO 3 ) 2 -generated O 2 ( 1 Δ g ) represents a promising approach for prion inactivation that may be useful in future decontamination strategies for delicate medical tools. K E Y W O R D S decontamination, photodynamic inactivation, phthalocyanines, prions, singlet oxygen

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