Chinese Scientists Invent Revolutionary Water-Purifying Film
Scientists at Sun Yat-sen University in China have developed a groundbreaking film that can purify water using low light intensities, offering a solution to the global safe drinking water crisis. The film, created by Professor Peng Wang and his team, has shown remarkable results in disinfecting water even under smartphone light.
Currently, 81% of the at-risk population lives in areas with poor infrastructure, making traditional water purification methods challenging. Existing point-of-use systems have limitations: UV irradiation requires energy, chlorination produces harmful chemicals, filtration fails to disinfect completely, and solar disinfection needs extensive time. The new film, however, has proven effective in meeting WHO's safe standards, killing Staphylococcus aureus within 25 minutes and showing broad spectrum capabilities.
The film's secret lies in its photocatalyst, which generates long-lasting bactericidal radicals. Under low light intensity, it killed 99% of Escherichia coli within 20 minutes and eradicated all bacteria in half an hour. This is a significant improvement over conventional photocatalytic systems that rely on short-lived and corrosive reactive oxygen species and require high-intensity light.
With up to 2 million lives claimed annually due to lack of access to safe drinking water, this innovation offers hope. The extremely light, floating films can be easily deployed in remote areas, providing a cost-effective and sustainable solution to water purification. Further research and development are needed to scale up production and ensure widespread adoption.
