title: Nanowire-Modified Three-Dimensional Electrode Enabling Low-Voltage Electroporation for Water Disinfection.
abstract: More than 10% of the people in the world still suffer from inadequate access to clean water. Traditional water disinfection methods (e.g., chlorination and ultraviolet radiation) include concerns about the formation of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs), pathogen reactivation, and/or excessive energy consumption. Recently, a nanowire-assisted electroporation-disinfection method was introduced as an alternative. Here, we develop a new copper oxide nanowire (CuONW)-modified three-dimensional copper foam electrode using a facile thermal oxidation approach. An electroporation-disinfection cell (EDC) equipped with two such electrodes has achieved superior disinfection performance (>7 log removal and no detectable bacteria in the effluent). The disinfection mechanism of electroporation guarantees an exceedingly low operation voltage (1 V) and level of energy consumption (25 J L(-1)) with a short contact time (7 s). The low operation voltage avoids chlorine generation and thus reduces the potential of DBP formation. Because of irreversible electroporation damage on cell membranes, no regrowth and/or reactivation of bacteria occurs during storage after EDC treatment. Water disinfection using EDCs has great potential for practical applications.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zheng-Yang
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Linde+Robinson Laboratories, California Institute of Technology , 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 131-24, Pasadena, California 91125, United States.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Study, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control State Key Joint Laboratory, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Microorganism Application and Risk Control (SMARC), School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, P. R. China.|Shenzhen Environmental Science and New Energy Technology Engineering Laboratory, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute , Shenzhen 518055, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hong-Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D002713:Chlorine; D004203:Disinfection; D004566:Electrodes; D018274:Electroporation; D053770:Nanowires; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014867:Water; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002713:Chlorine