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The team, led by researchers at George Washington University in Washington DC, showed that when the double-atom catalyst is mixed with a peroxide-based disinfectant, the disinfectant is two-to-four times more effective at disabling a coronavirus strain.
The use of peroxide-based disinfectants grew during the Covid-19 pandemic, the researchers said, but the extensive use of chemical disinfectants to kill viruses and other pathogens can also threaten human health and ecosystems.
Enhancing disinfectants with nanomaterials engineered from Earth-abundant elements like iron and carbon could offer a more sustainable and cost-effective option.
“Peroxides are often used to kill pathogens, but we have to use a much higher concentration of them than we really need,” said associate professor Danmeng Shuai, senior author of a paper on the research.
“With this nanomaterial, we can actually reduce the amount of peroxides we’re using daily, which not only reduces costs but also offers a more sustainable method of disinfection, while still achieving the best performance for killing environmental pathogens.”
Shuai and colleagues, including David P Durkin from the United States Naval Academy and Hanning Chen from the University of Texas, developed a Fe−Fe (iron) double-atom catalyst. They mixed the nanomaterial with peroxide and a coronavirus strain in two different mediums – artificial saliva, and freshwater drawn from a local river to mimic contact surface cleaning and water disinfection.
The team observed that the nanomaterial worked by shuttling electrons from the virus to the peroxide. As a result, the virus became oxidised, damaging the viral genome and proteins, as well as the coronavirus lifecycle in the host cells.
“Our work paves a new avenue of leveraging advanced materials for improving disinfection, sanitation, and hygiene practices,” said Zhe Zhou, first author of the paper.
“Our discovery also has broad engineering applications for advancing catalysis in pollution control, enabling effective and safe disinfection, controlling the environmental transmission of pathogens, and ultimately protecting public health.”
The nanomaterial could be used to deactivate environmental pathogens in diverse environments, the researchers said. Examples could include water purification, by packing the nanomaterial in columns and allowing water to pass through. It could also be used in a spray to disinfect contact surfaces, such as counter tops.
Future studies should focus on optimising the materials to further advance the disinfection potency, the team said.
The work was published in Environmental Science & Technology.
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