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Impact of Extracellular Polymeric Substance in the Inactivation of Harmful Algae by Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 under Visible Light
Author(s) -
Fan Gongduan,
Lin Jiuhong,
Xia Mingqian,
Luo Jing,
Du Banghao,
Pang Heliang,
Yan Zhongsen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
particle and particle systems characterization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-4117
pISSN - 0934-0866
DOI - 10.1002/ppsc.202000272
Subject(s) - extracellular polymeric substance , photocatalysis , algae , zeta potential , extracellular , chemistry , green algae , scavenger , chitosan , chemical engineering , nuclear chemistry , biophysics , environmental chemistry , materials science , nanotechnology , botany , nanoparticle , biochemistry , biology , antioxidant , catalysis , bacteria , biofilm , engineering , genetics
Photocatalysis has attracted much attention as an emerging algae removal technology, but the inactivation performance is inevitably affected by the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) produced by algae. In this study, a photocatalyst (Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 ) with efficient algae inactivation is adopted to investigate the interactions with EPS, and the impact of EPS on photocatalytic algae removal is studied. The results show that EPS can adhere to the surface of Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 by electrostatic force. The interaction with EPS decreases the surface zeta potential of the Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 from 7.71 to −22.3 mV with the increase in EPS concentration, and the maximum ratio of particle size increases from 825 to 1281 nm. In addition, the interaction with EPS inhibits the release of Ag + in Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 by half, thus, the toxicity of metal ions will be alleviated. Meanwhile, EPS can also be degraded by Ag 2 O/g‐C 3 N 4 , indicating that EPS can work as a radical scavenger to protect the algae cells. Without the protection of EPS, 97.8% of algae cells are inactivated after 5 h photocatalysis. Therefore, more attention should be given to the interaction between EPS and photocatalyst to promote the design and application of the photocatalytic.