A novel ZnO-TiO2-Bi2WO6/Carboxymethyl chitosan composite with high antimicrobial activity and visible-light catalytic degradation of ethylene towards banana preservation in hot and humid environments

Wenqiang Ma; Yushu Zhang; Li Chen; Xinxin Xie; Shipeng Yuan; Zhenhua Qiu; Guiyou Zhu; Jianwei Guo

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136559

A novel ZnO-TiO₂-Bi₂WO₆/Carboxymethyl chitosan composite with high antimicrobial activity and visible-light catalytic degradation of ethylene towards banana preservation in hot and humid environments

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Oct 12:136559. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136559. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wenqiang Ma¹, Yushu Zhang¹, Li Chen¹, Xinxin Xie¹, Shipeng Yuan¹, Zhenhua Qiu¹, Guiyou Zhu², Jianwei Guo³

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangzhou Tianjiang High Tech Materials Company Limited, Guangzhou 510535, China. Electronic address: 1112306030@mail2.gdut.edu.cn.
³ School of Chemical Engineering and Light Industry, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: guojw@gdut.edu.cn.

PMID: 39401623
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136559

Abstract

In order to solve the problem of significantly shortened storage time of bananas in hot and humid environment (e.g., 30 °C and 90 % relative humidity), this paper reports the preparation of ZnO-TiO2-Bi2WO6 (ZTB) ternary heterojunction antimicrobial photocatalysts composite carboxymethyl chitosan film (ZTB/CMCS). ZTB were prepared by hydrothermal method and composited with CMCS by surface deposition method to construct ZTB/CMCS edible nano-preservation film. It is noteworthy that the ZTB/CMCS composite film exhibited excellent antibacterial efficiency (>99.99 %) against E. coli and S. aureus suspensions (10⁶ CFU/mL) after 24 h of incubation at 37 °C. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) spectroscopy showed that the incorporation of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) into the ZTB structure led to a decrease in fluorescence lifetime. Moreover, the interfacial interaction between ZnO and TiO₂/Bi₂WO₆ inhibited the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, promoting carrier separation and improving photocatalytic activity. The combination of high antibacterial activity, photocatalytic degradation of ethylene and inhibition of gas exchange provided multiple protections for fruit preservation. Therefore, this work provides a novel, effective and safe method for prolonging the preservation of bananas in hot and humid environments.

Keywords: Antibacterial; Carboxymethyl chitosan; Visible light Photocatalysis.