Photocatalytic Deactivation of  E. coli  Bacteria by Copper(II) Oxide Doped-Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposite in Water Catchment Systems

Kustomo Kustomo; Xiaoli Wu

doi:10.22146/ijc.104537

Photocatalytic Deactivation of E. coli Bacteria by Copper(II) Oxide Doped-Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposite in Water Catchment Systems

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.104537

Kustomo Kustomo^(1*), Xiaoli Wu⁽²⁾

(1) Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543, Singapore; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universitas Islam Negeri Walisongo Semarang, Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Ngaliyan 50185, Semarang, Indonesia
(2) Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, P.R. China
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study investigates the synthesis and evaluation of CuO-doped TiO₂ nanocomposites for photocatalytic deactivation of Escherichia coli in the water catchment systems. Nanocomposites with varying CuO concentrations (0.25, 0.50, and 0.85% w/w) doped into TiO₂ were prepared via the co-precipitation method and characterized by FTIR, SEM-EDS, and UV-vis DRS. The incorporation of CuO into TiO₂ resulted in a progressive reduction of band gap energy, with the 0.85% CuO-TiO₂ sample exhibiting the lowest value. Photocatalytic testing demonstrated that the 0.85% CuO-TiO₂ nanocomposite achieved a 99.23% reduction of E. coli, surpassing the performance of undoped TiO₂. The enhanced activity is attributed to improved visible light absorption and more efficient charge separation due to the synergistic effect between CuO and TiO₂. These results indicate that optimizing CuO doping in TiO₂ nanocomposites can significantly enhance photocatalytic disinfection, offering a promising solution for water treatment applications.

Keywords

photocatalyst; CuO-TiO2; deactivation; E. coli; water catchment

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.104537