Text source: Monash University The international team, led by Professor Xiwang Zhang in Monash University’s Department of Chemical Engineering, combined graphitic carbon nitride with polyethylenimine (PEI) to destroy harmful pathogens E. coli and Enterococcus faecalis from water within 45 minutes and 60 minutes respectively.
This new photocatalyst method is low cost and metal-free, which prevents secondary pollution of leached metal ions during the filtration process.
If upscaled, this solar-driven method could significantly improve the treatment of large volumes of water. It also has the potential to be integrated into current solar water disinfection technology in countries with limited access to fresh water.
Published in the journal Applied Catalysis B: Environmental*, Professor Zhang says integrating their photocatalyst into solar water disinfection technology could nearly ensure complete and rapid disinfection in a more sustainable way.
To read the full article, please visit Monash University’s website.
^{*https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926337320305105?via%3Dihub}