High-efficiency, Synergistic ZnO-Coated SiC Photocatalytic Filter with Antibacterial Properties

Abstract

A new composite ZnO-coated SiC filter with photocatalytic and antibacterial properties was prepared via a simple sol–gel method. The crystallinity, grain size, and ZnO loadings played important roles in the photocatalytic and antibacterial properties of as-prepared materials. The high-efficiency photocatalytic and antibacterial properties resulted from the active oxidizing reagents and released Zn2+, respectively. The possible formation of an n–p junction between n-type ZnO and p-type SiC filter support is considered as another reason for enhanced photocatalytic performance (i.e., the effective degradation of methyl orange (MO) solution). Antibacterial activity of as-prepared samples against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (without UV light) were also examined; after 30 min sterilization, the samples removed a maximum of 97.6 and 99.9% of these bacteria, respectively.