Long-range hydrophobic force enhanced interfacial photocatalysis for the submerged surface anti-biofouling

Shuo Pan; Dingnan Lu; Huihui Gan; David Z Zhu; Zhiyuan Yao; Pradeep U Kurup; Gaoke Zhang; Jiayue Luo

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2023.120383

Long-range hydrophobic force enhanced interfacial photocatalysis for the submerged surface anti-biofouling

Water Res. 2023 Sep 1:243:120383. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120383. Epub 2023 Jul 21.

Authors

Shuo Pan¹, Dingnan Lu², Huihui Gan³, David Z Zhu⁴, Zhiyuan Yao¹, Pradeep U Kurup⁵, Gaoke Zhang⁶, Jiayue Luo¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China.
² School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
³ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Institute of Ocean Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA. Electronic address: ganhuihui@nbu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2W2, Canada.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
⁶ Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, 122 Luoshi Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address: gkzhang@whut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37506635
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120383

Abstract

Developing anti-biofouling and anti-biofilm techniques is of great importance for protecting water-contact surfaces. In this study, we developed a novel double-layer system consisting of a bottom immobilized TiO₂ nanoflower arrays (TNFs) unit and an upper superhydrophobic (SHB) coating along with the assistance of nanobubbles (NBs), which can significantly elevate the interfacial oxygen level by establishing the long-range hydrophobic force between NBs and SHB and effectively maximize the photocatalytic reaction brought by the bottom TNFs. The developed NBs-SHB/TNFs system demonstrated the highest bulk chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction efficiency at approximately 80% and achieved significant E. coli and Chlorella sp. inhibition efficiencies of 5.38 and 1.99 logs. Meanwhile, the system showed a sevenfold higher resistance to biofilm formation when testing in a wastewater matrix using a wildly collected biofilm seeding solution. These findings provide insights for implementing nanobubble-integrated techniques for submerged surface protection.

Keywords: Interfacial photocatalysis; Nanobubbles; Superhydrophobic; TiO(2) nanoflower arrays; Water-contact surface protection.

MeSH terms

Biofilms
Biofouling* / prevention & control
Chlorella*
Escherichia coli
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions