Hvhc-Esd-Induced Oxygen Vacancies: An Insight Into the Phenomena of Interfacial Interactions of Nanostructure Oxygen Vacancy Sites With Oxygen Ion-Containing Organic Compounds Publisher Pubmed



Sharifi Malvajerdi S^{1, 2} ; Aboutorabi S³ ; Shahnazi A⁴ ; Gholamhosseini S¹ ; Taheri Ghahrizjani R¹ ; Yahyaee Targhi F⁴ ; Erfanimanesh S⁵ ; Beigverdi R⁵ ; Imani A^{1, 6} ; Sari AH⁷ ; Sun H² ; Saffarian P³ ; Behmadi H⁸ ; Nabid MR⁴ Show All Authors Show Affiliations
Source: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Published:2023

Abstract

The challenging environmental chemical and microbial pollution has always caused issues for human life. This article investigates the detailed mechanism of photodegradation and antimicrobial activity of oxide semiconductors and realizes the interface phenomena of nanostructures with toxins and bacteria. We demonstrate how oxygen vacancies in nanostructures affect photodegradation and antimicrobial behavior. Additionally, a novel method with a simple, tunable, and cost-effective synthesis of nanostructures for such applications is introduced to resolve environmental issues. The high-voltage, high-current electrical switching discharge (HVHC-ESD) system is a novel method that allows on-the-spot sub-second synthesis of nanostructures on top and in the water for wastewater decontamination. Experiments are done on rhodamine B as a common dye in wastewater to understand its photocatalytic degradation mechanism. Moreover, the antimicrobial mechanism of oxide semiconductors synthesized by the HVHC-ESD method with oxygen vacancies is realized on methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. The results yield new insights into how oxygen ions in dyes and bacterial walls interact with the surface of ZnO with high oxygen vacancy, which results in breaking of the chemical structure of dyes and bacterial walls. This interaction leads to degradation of organic dyes and bacterial inactivation. © 2023 American Chemical Society.