Abstract
To combat infectious diseases, zinc oxide (ZnO) has been identified as an effective antibacterial agent; however, its performance can be adversely affected by harsh application environments. The ozone impact on ZnO antibacterial film needs to be evaluated prior to its application in an ozone disinfection system. In this study, ZnO films synthesized via sol-gel/spin-coating were subjected to ultraviolet–ozone (UVO) treatment for different periods. Surface investigations using scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the treatment-induced film changes. With longer UVO treatment, the surface porosity of the film gradually increased from 5% to 30%, causing the transmittance reduction and absorbance increase in visible-light range. Phase transformation of Zn(OH)2 to ZnO occurred during the first 10 min of UVO treatment, followed by oxygen uptake as a consequence of the reaction with reactive oxygen species generated during UVO treatment. However, despite these surface changes, the satisfactory antibacterial activity of the synthesized ZnO film against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was sustained even after 120 min of UVO treatment. This indicates that the UVO-induced surface changes do not have a significant effect on the antibacterial performance and that the ZnO sol-gel film possesses good functional durability in ozone environments.
Highlights
Today, infectious diseases as well as environmental pollution have drawn attention worldwide.hospital-acquired infections that occur in the hospital or other healthcare locations are considered an inevitable challenge for public health [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
It has been proposed that the antibacterial effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) is attributed
Antibacterial coating against various bacterial strains is in proportion to the specific surface area, which is because of its surface-dependent antibacterial mechanisms mentioned in the introduction
Summary
Infectious diseases as well as environmental pollution have drawn attention worldwide.hospital-acquired infections (called nosocomial infections) that occur in the hospital or other healthcare locations are considered an inevitable challenge for public health [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Nosocomial infections are estimated to annually result in at least 138,000 deaths worldwide, according to a report by the World Health Organization [8]. Among the metal-oxide agents, zinc oxide (ZnO) has been recognized as one of the promising antibacterial agents thanks to its inherent characteristics, such as good biocompatibility with humans (non-toxicity), biological effectiveness for bacteria-cell killing, low cost, and excellent physicochemical and thermal resistance—enabling its longer lifetime and higher cost-effectiveness than other organic and inorganic materials [12,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30]. It has been proposed that the antibacterial effect of ZnO is attributed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
