Bactericidal and detoxification effects of irradiated semiconductor catalyst, TiO2

The successful photochemical splitting of water with a TiO2 electrode has established that TiO2 has to be considered as one of the most important semiconductor photocatalysts. This photocatalyst has been shown to be efficient to mineralize several organic compounds and thereby remove a variety of pollutants and wastes. For safe drinking water, the present environmental conditions demand new technologies for the disinfection and treatment of water. One of the promising applications of TiO2 photocatalysis is the photocatalytic removal of bacterial pollutants from drinking water. This semiconductor photocatalyst has been employed as a suspended powder or thin film on a suitable substrate or as a coated electrode, and the irradiated TiO2 has been found to be efficient to sterilize water containing E. coli. Cyanobacterial toxins such as microcystins present in drinking water are also destructed using TiO2 photocatalysis.