Visible light-activated mesoporous transparent tio2 thin film for surface disinfection

Overview

This technology is a visible light-activated titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film designed to be coated onto glass containers or surfaces for passive, real-time disinfection of pathogens in aqueous environments. Once applied, the film harnesses solar radiation or indoor visible light as its sole energy source to generate highly reactive species, such as hydroxyl radicals, that inactivate microorganisms on contact. The intended use case is a "place and leave" disinfection system that operates with minimal chemical inputs, low energy demands, and no active user intervention, making it well suited for water treatment, food and beverage containers, healthcare surfaces, and public infrastructure where continuous, low-maintenance microbial control is needed.

Technical specifications

Material properties:

• Mesoporous structure with pore sizes of 2 to 8 nanometers
• Porosity of approximately 44 percent and surface area of approximately 150 m2/g
• Nanocrystalline anatase phase for high photocatalytic activity
• Anion-doped composition (nitrogen) to extend light absorption into the visible range, with absorbance red-shifted up to 468 nanometers
• Optical transparency, allowing the coated substrate to remain see-through
• Ultrathin, uniform film morphology that is chemically and mechanically stable

Functional advantages:

• Visible light activation under solar or indoor lighting, eliminating the need for ultraviolet sources
• Immobilized catalysis that avoids the need to recover or filter powdered catalyst from treated water
• Enhanced mass transport and light penetration through the porous, transparent architecture
• Demonstrated capability to degrade pollutants including pharmaceuticals, dyes, biological toxins, and pathogenic microorganisms

Fabrication approach:

The film is produced through a sol-gel process combined with surfactant-based self-assembly, followed by dip-coating onto substrates and calcination. A nitrogen-containing surfactant is used both as a pore-directing template and as the dopant source, enabling simultaneous structural engineering and visible light responsiveness in a streamlined synthesis.

Technology readiness level

The underlying TiO2 material platform has been fabricated and characterized by the principal investigator over more than two decades, with prior variants of the mesoporous thin film and membrane successfully degrading and inactivating a range of waterborne pollutants and pathogens. The current effort focuses on pioneering nitrogen-doping through a dual-purpose surfactant template, developing new routes to immobilize the film onto glass substrates, and validating performance against E. coli as a model pathogen. Special emphasis is being placed on reducing and integrating synthesis steps to improve manufacturability. Follow-on work will address film protection, improved pathogen mobility from surfaces, and potential synergy with oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide. The technology is at an advanced research and validation stage, moving toward practical demonstration on glass substrates for surface disinfection applications.