In situ synthesis of zinc oxide/selenium composite for UV blocker application

Development of reliable ultraviolet (UV) blockers is crucial for UV radiation protection applications such as sunscreen and UV-resistant fabric. To date, zinc oxide (ZnO) has been extensively used as a physical UV blocker worldwide but has also been criticized for with its unfavored UV-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation phenomena. As an attempt to suppress the photocatalytic activity of ZnO without compromising its UV absorbance property, amorphous selenium (Se) nanoparticles (NPs) were incorporated to ZnO using a facile and cost-effective coprecipitation method. Additionally, this process also enables an economical synthesis route for harvesting amorphous Se NPs from an aqueous medium. The ZnO–Se composites were thoroughly characterized to confirm its enhanced UV absorptivity combined with high transparency in the visible light range and to understand the interaction between ZnO and Se. Besides, Se-induced photocatalytic activity suppression of ZnO was demonstrated using methylene orange as an indicator. In vitro study revealed that ZnO–Se composite had improved biocompatibility over ZnO but comparable bacteriostasis ability under full-spectrum light irradiation. These results suggest that ZnO–Se composite is a promising UV blocker with advantages of facile synthesis, UV-induced ROS generation diminishment and biocompatibility.