Radiocatalytic performance of oxide-based nanoparticles for targeted therapy and water remediation

The radiocatalytic behavior of zinc oxide (ZnO), hafnia (HfO2), titania (TiO2), and gold-titania (Au@TiO2) nanomaterials was investigated through the degradation of methylene blue as the organic probe. The dye degradation by X-rays from a medical linear accelerator with endpoint energy of 6 MeV was enhanced in the presence of the oxide-based nanoparticles evidencing their promise as radiosensitizers. An increase in the dye apparent reaction rate constants of similar to 20% and up to 82% was observed in the presence of oxides-based nanoparticles during exposure to X-rays. This enhancement is attributed to the increased production of reactive species in solution. Gold-titania nanocomposites evidenced one of the highest radiocatalytic activity among the materials under investigation, with an increase in the MB apparent reaction rate constant of 50.3%. Overall, our experiments showed that radiocatalysis with oxides-based nanoparticles is a promising concept worth exploring in applications such as targeted radiation therapy and pollutant removal of water streams.