Electrospinning Cu–TiO2 nanofibers used for photocatalytic disinfection of bacteriophage f2: preparation, optimization and characterization

Abstract

The presence of pathogenic viruses in drinking water threatens public health severely. However, there is little information about how to use photocatalysts to disinfect viruses. In this report, one-dimensional Cu–TiO₂ nanofibers were fabricated using the electrospinning method and used for the removal of bacteriophage f2. The results showed that the optimum doping ratio and calcination temperature of the Cu–TiO₂ nanofibers was n(Cu) : n(Ti) = 1 : 8 and 450 °C, respectively. In addition, bacteriophage f2 with an initial concentration of 10⁵ PFU mL⁻¹ was completely inactivated with a dosage of 50 mg L⁻¹ of Cu–TiO₂ nanofibers under visible light irradiation for 4 h. Furthermore, the results from characterization of the nanofibers by various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectrophotometry demonstrated that TiO₂ existed in the anatase phase and Cu²⁺ substituted Ti⁴⁺ in the TiO₂ lattice. The introduction of Cu into TiO₂ effectively extended the spectral response of TiO₂ to visible light. On the basis of this evidence, the mechanism of virus inactivation by Cu–TiO₂ nanofibers was proposed.