Sunlight-active phytol-ZnO@TiO2 nanocomposite for photocatalytic water remediation and bacterial-fouling control in aquaculture: A comprehensive study on safety-level assessment

Abstract

With a growing consciousness of the importance of nature stewardship, researchers are focusing their efforts on utilizing renewable energy, particularly solar energy, to address environmental concerns. In this context, photocatalysis has long been viewed as one of the most promising cleaning methods. Hence, we have prepared a sunlight-active phytol-assisted ZnO-TiO2 nanocomposite (PZTN) for photocatalytic bacterial deactivation and dye degradation process. The PZTN-photocatalysis effectively deactivated the bacterial pathogens as well as malachite green dye within 240 min under direct-sunlight. Moreover, this will be the first complete study on safety level assessment of photocatalytically-remediated water through toxicity studies. The obtained results evidenced that photocatalytically-deactivated bacteria and MG-dye showed to have no toxic effects, signifying that the PZTN-photocatalyzed water seems to be extremely safe for the environment. As a result of this research, we suggest that the PZTN could be a promising sunlight-active photocatalyst for environmental water treatment. On the other hand, biofouling is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the marine environment. Bacteria are the first organisms to foul surfaces and produce biofilms on man-made submerged materials. Interestingly, PZTN-coated PVC plastic-films effectively disallowed biofilms on their surface. This part of this research suggests that PZTN coated PVC-plastics are the best alternative for biofouling management.