Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 Sep 15;14(1):5734. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41490-5.
Water disinfection is conventionally achieved by oxidation or irradiation, which is often associated with a high carbon footprint and the formation of toxic byproducts. Here, we describe a nano-structured material that is highly effective at killing bacteria in water through a hydrodynamic mechanism. The material consists of carbon-coated, sharp Cu(OH) nanowires grown on a copper foam substrate. We show that mild water flow (e.g. driven from a storage tank) can efficiently tear up bacteria through a high dispersion force between the nanotip surface and the cell envelope. Bacterial cell rupture is due to tearing of the cell envelope rather than collisions. This mechanism produces rapid inactivation of bacteria in water, and achieved complete disinfection in a 30-day field test. Our approach exploits fluidic energy and does not require additional energy supply, thus offering an efficient and low-cost system that could potentially be incorporated in water treatment processes in wastewater facilities and rural communities.
传统的水消毒方法是通过氧化或辐照来实现的，但这种方法通常伴随着高碳足迹和有毒副产物的形成。在这里，我们描述了一种纳米结构材料，它通过水动力机制在水中杀死细菌的效果非常显著。该材料由生长在铜泡沫基底上的碳涂层、锋利的 Cu(OH)纳米线组成。我们表明，温和的水流（例如由储水箱驱动）可以通过纳米尖端表面和细胞包膜之间的高分散力有效地撕裂细菌。细菌细胞的破裂是由于细胞包膜的撕裂而不是碰撞。这种机制使得水中的细菌迅速失活，并在 30 天的现场试验中实现了完全消毒。我们的方法利用了流体能量，不需要额外的能源供应，因此提供了一种高效、低成本的系统，有可能被纳入废水处理厂和农村社区的水处理过程中。
