A team from Yangzhou University, CAS Institute of Process Engineering and the University of Technology in Sydney has developed a mthod which killed model Escherichia coli under visible-light irradiation within 30 min, by using an edge-functionalized graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as the photocatalyst. The authors believe that edge functionalization generated an anisotropic electric field that promoted the separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, leading to disruption of membranes. The method may eventually be used to prepare pathogen-free water by photocatalysis.
CAS news release, February 8, 2019
Metal-free photocatalyst destroys E. coli in water in 30 minutes