Ce and Er Co-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> for rapid bacteria- killing using visible light.

Ren, Yawei; Han, Yajing; Li, Zhaoyang; Liu, Xiangmei; Zhu, Shengli; Liang, Yanqin; Yeung, Kelvin Wai Kwok; Wu, Shuilin · Bioact Mater · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Bacterial infection and related diseases are threatening the health of human beings. Photocatalytic disinfection as a simple and low-cost disinfection strategy is attracting more and more attention. In this work, TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles (NPs) were modified by co-doping of Ce and Er using the sol-gel method, which endowed TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance but not pure ultraviolet photocatalytic properties compared the untreated TiO<sub>2</sub>. Our results disclosed that as the doping content of Er increased, the photocatalytic activity of modified TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs initially increased and subsequently decreased. The same trend occurred for Ce doping. When the doping dose of Er and Ce is 0.5 mol% and 0.2 mol%, the 0.5Ce0.2Ti-O calcined at 800 °C presented the best antibacterial properties, with the antibacterial efficiency of 91.23% and 92.8% for <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i>, respectively. The existence of Er ions is thought to successfully turn the near-infrared radiation into visible region, which is easier to be absorbed by TiO<sub>2</sub> NPs. Meanwhile, the addition of Ce ions can effectively extend spectral response range and inhibit the recombination of electrons and holes, enhancing the photocatalytic disinfection activity of co-doped TiO<sub>2</sub>.