Poly-(3-thiopheneacetic acid) coated Fe3O4@LDHs magnetic nanospheres as a photocatalyst for the efficient photocatalytic disinfection of pathogenic bacteria under solar light irradiation

A novel poly-(3-thiopheneacetic acid) coated Fe3O4@LDHs photocatalyst was prepared and used for the photocatalytic disinfection of bacteria under solar light irradiation. The influencing parameters of the photocatalytic antibacterial activity of the Fe3O4@PTAA-LDHs photocatalyst were optimized against E. coli and S. aureus. Results showed that the Fe3O4@PTAA-LDHs photocatalyst could effectively absorb ultraviolet and visible light. The antibacterial rate could achieve 99.99% when irradiated by solar light with 0.8 mg mL−1 Fe3O4@PTAA-LDHs during 140 min. Moreover, it was confirmed that the ˙OH were generated during the photocatalytic process, which was the major reason for the photocatalytic disinfection. The structural destruction of the bacteria cells that occurred during the bactericidal procedure was observed by TEM images. The novel photocatalyst could have potential applications in the related bactericidal fields.