Visible-light photocatalyst system with cleaning vinegar for on-demand peracetic acid disinfection

Overview

This research proposes a novel, low-toxicity disinfection system that combines visible-light active photocatalysts with readily available cleaning vinegar to produce peracetic acid (PAA) on demand. PAA is a widely used, environmentally friendly disinfectant recognized for its strong antimicrobial and sanitization properties. By leveraging photocatalysis, the system avoids the energy- and waste-intensive anthraquinone oxidation process traditionally used to manufacture PAA. The result is a simple, household-compatible disinfection solution capable of inactivating common pathogens at far lower concentrations than conventional hydrogen peroxide treatments.

Technical specifications

Core mechanism:

• Visible-light active photocatalysts (Cu/TiO2 or g-C3N4) are excited by common household light sources to generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
• Acetic acid (AA) from cleaning vinegar reacts with the photocatalytically produced H2O2 to form peracetic acid (PAA).
• PAA is a versatile, powerful oxidizer effective for sanitization, disinfection, and sterilization.

Key advantages:

• PAA achieves disinfection in the ppm concentration range, compared to 7.5% required for H2O2 alone per CDC guidelines.
• The catalysts are easy to synthesize; TiO2 is commercially available.
• The system avoids the energy-intensive anthraquinone process for H2O2 production.
• Antimicrobial activity is validated against model bacteria including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Research approach:

• Task 1: Optimize PAA production by varying photocatalyst type and loading, and vinegar concentration.
• Task 2: Test photocatalytic disinfection efficacy with and without AA against model bacteria.
• Task 3: Prepare an optimized solution and validate practical surface disinfection performance under common household lighting conditions.

Technology readiness level

This project is at an early-to-mid stage of development. The individual components—photocatalytic H2O2 generation using Cu/TiO2 and g-C3N4, and PAA formation from H2O2 and AA—are established in the literature. The research team has demonstrated expertise in synthesizing TiO2- and C3N4-based photocatalysts. The proposed work focuses on optimizing the catalyst–vineformulation and validating disinfection performance against real-world surfaces and pathogens. Further validation, including practical surface testing and scale-up assessments, is needed before commercial deployment.