Photocatalytic Properties of Eco-Friendly ZnO Nanostructures on 3D-Printed Polylactic Acid Scaffolds

The present paper reports a novel approach for fabrication of eco-friendly ZnO nanoparticles onto three-dimensional (3D)-printed polylactic acid (PLA) scaffolds/structures. Several alcohol-based traditional Greek liquors were used to achieve the corrosion of metallic zinc collected from a typical galvanic anode to obtain photocatalytic active nanostructured ZnO, varying from water, to Greek ouzo and raki, and pure ethanol, in combination with Baker's ammonia (ammonium bicarbonate), sold worldwide in every food store. The photocatalytic active ZnO nanostructures onto three-dimensional (3D)-printed PLA scaffolds were used to achieve the degradation of 50 ppm paracetamol in water, under UV irradiation. This study provides evidence that following the proposed low-cost, eco-friendly routes for the fabrication of large-scale photocatalysts, an almost 95% degradation of 50 ppm paracetamol in water can be achieved, making the obtained 3D ZnO/PLA structures excellent candidates for real life environmental applications. This is the first literature research report on a successful attempt of using this approach for the engineering of low-cost photocatalytic active elements for pharmaceutical contaminants in waters.

Automated summary

This study presents a novel approach for fabricating eco-friendly ZnO nanoparticles on 3D-printed PLA scaffolds and demonstrates their efficacy in degrading paracetamol in water. The use of traditional Greek liquors and Baker's ammonia enabled the successful synthesis of photocatalytic active ZnO nanostructures. These findings highlight the potential of low-cost, environmentally friendly methods for producing ZnO/PLA structures with high photocatalytic activity for environmental applications.