A TiO2 nanocomposite hydrogel for Hydroponic plants in efficient water improvement

The increasing use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) in a wide range of fields raises concerns about their potential environmental impact. In this work, the antifouling materials acrylamide (AM) and acrylic acid (AA) were selected to construct a support for TiO2 NPs to form a functional nanocomposite hydrogel through simple one-pot UV-induced free-radical polymerisation. The constructed mechanically strong nanocomposite hydrogel showed integrated photocatalytic, antibacterial, and self-healing functions. Finally, pothos (Epipremnumaureum) was used as a model hydroponic plant to investigate the effect of the nanocomposite gels on the water quality after irradiation with solar light (indoor, no direct sunlight). In contrast to the rapid deterioration of the reference sample system, the lower TOC concentration in the photocatalytically treated system shows that the efficient oxidation of TiO2 photocatalysis, which lowers the environmental impact of soil-less system. The high strength hydrogel with integrated functions is expected to be applied readily as a water treatment strategy under solar light irradiation.