The newly identified pathogenic human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, led to an atypical pneumonia-like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak called coronavirus disease 2019 (abbreviated as COVID-19). Currently, nearly 77 million cases have been confirmed worldwide with the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Individuals are getting vaccinated with recently approved vaccines, which are highly protective in suppressing COVID-19 symptoms but there will be a long way before the majority of individuals get vaccinated. In the meantime, safety precautions and effective disease control strategies appear to be vital for preventing the virus spread in public places. Due to the longevity of the virus on smooth surfaces, photocatalytic properties of “self-disinfecting/cleaning” surfaces appear to be a promising tool to help guide disinfection policies for controlling SARS-CoV-2 spread in high-traffic areas such as hospitals, grocery stores, airports, schools, and stadiums. Here, we explored the photocatalytic properties of nanosized TiO₂ (TNPs) as induced by the UV radiation, towards virus deactivation. Our preliminary results using a close genetic relative of SAR-CoV-2, HCoV-NL63, showed the virucidal efficacy of photoactive TNPs deposited on glass coverslips, as examined by quantitative RT-qPCR and virus infectivity assays. Efforts to extrapolate the underlying concepts described in this study to SARS-CoV-2 are currently underway.

Electrochemical production of H₂O₂ by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) provides an alternative method to the energy intensive anthraquinone process. Nickel-Molybdenum-Tellurium (Ni-Mo-Te) film has been electrodeposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. Te loading in the Ni-Mo-Te film was varied by changing Te precursor concentration in the electrolyte. The resulting film was tested in an H-cell as an electrocatalyst for H₂O₂ production via ORR. A 4-fold increase in the activity towards ORR was attributed to the increased number of Te sites in the Ni-Mo-Te film leading to effective electron transfer.

Food spoilage detection is crucial in preventing foodborne illnesses caused by consumption of spoiled food. The current study explores the potential use of in-situ cobalt functionalized TiO₂ nanotubes (iCo-TNT) in the electrochemical detection of ethyl acetate, a Volatile Organic Biomarker (VOB) released from spoiled tomato. iCo-TNTs were synthesized by electrochemical anodization using titanium sheet as the working electrode and platinum sheet as the counter electrode in an electrolyte of 0.5 wt.% CoF₂, 0.5 wt.% HF, and 2.5 wt.% H₂O composition. The anodized tubes were annealed in oxygen flow to ensure the formation of anatase phase. The morphology of iCo-TNT was characterized using SEM and tubes were found to have an inner diameter, wall thickness and length of ~40 nm, ~8 nm and ~1.1 µm respectively. The electrochemical sensing of ethyl acetate was carried out using amperometry in a standard three electrode configuration. Amperometry studies were conducted using iCo-TNT as the working electrode, at a bias voltage of -0.3 V vs an Ag/AgCl reference electrode, with 1mM incremental addition of ethyl acetate VOB in DI water blank solution. The sensor response current was found to be linear and increasing with ethyl acetate addition in the concentration range 0 mM to 4 mM. Furthermore, a mechanism for interaction of ethyl acetate with iCo-TNT was proposed.