A team led by Professor Lu Yun from Chiba University in Japan recently announced that the new titanium dioxide photocatalytic film pellets developed by the team and Tokyo-based SNS soft can efficiently inactivate the new coronavirus and help develop new products for disinfection and sterilization of the environment. .

According to a press release provided by the team, research has shown that titanium dioxide absorbs light energy when exposed to light to decompose organic pollutants, kill bacteria and viruses, and more. A related paper has recently been published in the British journal Scientific Reports.

The team has been engaged in the research and development of titanium dioxide photocatalytic materials for nearly 20 years, exploring its high performance and its application in air and water purification. Titanium dioxide photocatalytic thin film pellets are prepared by a new film-forming technology developed by the team-mechanical film-forming method. The idea comes from the reverse thinking of mixing and pulverizing metal powder with a ball mill in powder metallurgy, and using the friction, impact and adhesion in the ball mill to achieve a simple and cheap metal film forming technology. A titanium film is prepared on the surface of the alumina spheres by a mechanical film forming method, and the titania photocatalytic thin film spheres can be obtained by subsequent heat treatment, salt bath treatment, acid bath treatment, and the like.

The test results commissioned by a third-party research institution show that this kind of pellet has a very high inactivation rate of new coronavirus and influenza virus and the ability to decompose formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The survival rate was 99.96%.

The researchers say that the sterilization and detoxification function of titanium dioxide photocatalytic materials under illumination comes from the reactive oxygen species generated during illumination. Active oxygen has strong redox properties, can decompose organic matter that pollutes the environment, and has strong sterilization and disinfection functions.