A novel application of In2S3 for visible-light-driven photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria: Kinetics, stability, toxicity and mechanism

Photocatalytic bacterial inactivation under visible light emerges as a new alternative to control microbial contamination by utilizing free and renewable sunlight. However, the exploration of highly effective and safe visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts remains an important step toward accessing this new technology. Herein, an eco-friendly photocatalyst, namely Indium Sulfide (In2S3), was fabricated through a facile hydrothermal method for VLD photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria. The energy band gap of the as-prepared In2S3 was measured as 2.25 eV. As expected, the obtained In2S3 photocatalyst showed remarkable inactivation efficiency toward E. coli under fluorescent tubes irradiation. The photocatalytic inactivation kinetic was perfectly fitted by a mathematical model for bacteria inactivation. In addition, In2S3 exhibited high stability and could be reused. The leakage of In3+ was not significant and showed no toxic effect to the bacteria. Based on the results of scavenger study and ESR technology, the dominant reactive species causing In2S3 VLD photocatalytic bacterial inactivation were proposed as O2−, h+, H2O2 and e−, rather than OH. The SEM study suggested that the damages to the intracellular components occurred prior to the destruction of cell wall. This study provides novel application of In2S3 for VLD photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria as well as comprehensive insight into the inactivation mechanism.