Inactivation of Escherichia coli on Immobilized CuO/CoFe2O4-TiO2 Thin-Film under Simulated Sunlight Irradiation

Composite photocatalysts of CuO/CoFe2O4-TiO2 were successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method and fixed on ordinary tiles. The photosterilization of Escherichia coli was examined on CuO/CoFe2O4-TiO2 thin films under a xenon lamp irradiation. The film was characterized by XRD, and the morphology was observed by SEM. Disinfection data indicated that CuO/CoFe2O4-TiO2 composite photocatalysts have the much better photocatalytic activity than CuO/CoFe2O4 and TiO2. The optimized composition of the nanocomposites has been found to be m(CuO/CoFe2O4) : m(TiO2) = 3: 7, with loadings ranging from 790 to 1400 mg/m(2). The photocatalytic inactivated rate of E. coli (10(5) CFU/mL) reached 98.4% under the xenon lamp of 150 W within 30 min.