Due to the position of microwave (MW) radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum, it has not yet been successfully utilized to inactivate waterborne microorganisms at a reasonable (energy) cost. Exceptional properties at the nano-scale, namely MW absorption-abilities of carbon nanotubes and excellent spectral conversion-capabilities of lanthanide series metal oxides in concert, hold promise to overcome the energetic barrier of this widely used and affordable technology. This study reports the synthesis of a nano-heterostructure that combines carbon nanotubes' and erbium oxide's properties to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inactivate Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Detailed characterization of the synthesized nanohybrid (NH) material with electron microscopy, X-ray techniques, and thermal gravimetric analysis confirms effective hybridization. At least one log unit of microbial inactivation was achieved via ROS generation with only 20 s of MW irradiation at 110 W (0.0006 kW h energy use), using a conventional MW oven. Inactivation studies with ROS scavenger molecules prove that the generated oxygen species played the dominant role in bacterial inactivation. These breakthrough results hold promise to enable an unintended use (i.e., disinfection) of MW technology, which is diffused deep into the global societal fabric.

中文翻译：

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利用微波的力量与纳米杂交体灭活铜绿假单胞菌†

由于微波（MW）辐射在电磁频谱中的位置，它尚未以合理的（能源）成本成功地用于灭活水生微生物。纳米级的卓越性能，即碳纳米管的MW吸收能力和镧系金属氧化物的出色光谱转换能力，共同有望克服这一广泛使用且价格可承受的技术的能源壁垒。这项研究报告了一种纳米异质结构的合成，该结构结合了碳纳米管和氧化er的特性以产生活性氧（ROS）并使铜绿假单胞菌失活。用电子显微镜，X射线技术和热重分析对合成的纳米杂化（NH）材料进行了详细的表征，证实了有效的杂交。使用常规的MW烤箱，通过ROS产生至少一个对数单位的微生物灭活，在110 W（仅使用0.0006 kWh的能量）下仅用20 s的MW辐射即可产生ROS。用ROS清除剂分子进行的灭活研究证明，所产生的氧在细菌灭活中起主要作用。这些突破性的结果有望实现MW技术的意外使用（即消毒），并将其广泛传播到全球社会结构中。