More than 10% people in the world are still suffering from inadequate access to clean water. Traditional water disinfection methods (<i>e.g.</i>, chlorination and ultraviolet radiation) have concerns of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formation, pathogen reactivation, and/or excessive energy consumption. Recently, a nanowire-assisted electroporation-disinfection method was introduced as an alternative. Here, we develop a new copper-oxide nanowire (CuONW)-modified 3D copper foam electrode using a facile thermal oxidation approach. An electroporation-disinfection cell (EDC) equipped with two such electrodes has achieved superior disinfection performance (&gt;7-log removal and no detectable bacteria in the effluent). The disinfection mechanism of electroporation guarantees an exceedingly low operation voltage (1 V) and energy consumption (25 J l<sup> -1</sup>) with a short contact time (7 s). Low operation voltage avoids chlorine generation, thus reduces the potential of DBPs formation. Due to irreversible electroporation damage on cell membranes, no bacteria re-growth/reactivation occurs during storage after EDC treatment. Water disinfection using EDCs has great potential for practical applications.

Nanowire-modified 3D electrode enabling low-voltage electroporation for water disinfection

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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