Using Gd-Enhanced β-NaYF4:Yb,Er Fluorescent Nanorods Coupled to Reduced TiO2 for the NIR-Triggered Photocatalytic Inactivation of Escherichia coli

Abstract

β-NaYF4:Yb,Er,Gd fluorescent nanorods were successfully coupled to a reduced TiO2 (UCNPs@R-TiO2) nanocomposite and applied to visible-light catalytic sterilization under 980 nm near-infrared (NIR) light illumination. The UCNPs (β-NaYF4:Yb,Er,Gd) absorb the NIR light and emit red and green light. The visible light can be absorbed by the R-TiO2 (Eg = 2.8 eV) for the photocatalytic reaction. About 98.1% of Escherichia coli were effectively killed upon 12 min of NIR light irradiation at a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 40 μg/mL UCNPs@R-TiO2 nanocomposite. The bactericidal properties were further evaluated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis. We found that the high bactericidal activity was due to the synergistic effect between the UCNPs and R-TiO2. Moreover, the UCNPs show excellent upconversion luminance properties, and the introduction of visible-light-absorbed R-TiO2 nanoparticles (2.8 eV) was conducive to the efficient separation and utilization of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

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Light-Assisted Catalysis in Water and Indoor Air Cleaning: Challenges and Perspectives

“…The paper also included a discussion on the kinetic models that governed the studied plasmonic catalysts. Zhou and co-workers [16] successfully coupled β-NaYF 4 :Yb,Er,Gd fluorescent nanorods to a reduced TiO 2 nanocomposite and applied it to visible-light catalytic sterilization under 980 nm near-infrared (NIR) light illumination. The authors claimed that up to 98.1% of Escherichia coli were effectively eradicated within 12 min of NIR light irradiation at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 40 µg/mL.…”