A polymer-coated nanowire sponge–based contact electrocatalytic system for simultaneous disinfection and removal of multiple micropollutants
11 affiliations
- 1School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 3International Intercollegiate PhD Program, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- 4School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- 5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- 6Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- 7Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
- 8Department of Chemistry and Center for Emerging Materials and Advanced Devices, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- 9Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. [email protected]
- 10Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. [email protected]
- 11School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
The removal of diverse contaminants in wastewater remains a major challenge due to low treatment efficiencies, high catalyst costs, and risks of residual chemicals. In this work, we introduce a polymer-coated nanowire sponge (PNS) based contact electro-catalysis (CEC) system for achieving the disinfection of microorganisms and the degradation of multiple micropollutants. Under ultrasonic stimulation, PNS facilitates interfacial electron transfer and generates a high rate of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Its synergistic ROS generation and static charge electroporation achieve over 99% disinfection within 3 minutes while degrading dyes, waste tire leachate, and reducing heavy metal ions in wastewater under ambient conditions. The system also exhibits a high hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production rate of 20.2 ± 0.1 μmol h⁻¹. Furthermore, PNS demonstrates excellent versatility, ease of recovery, and reusability, highlighting its strong potential for both point-of-use and large-scale wastewater treatment applications. A polymer-coated nanowire sponge utilizes mechanical energy to produce reactive oxygen species, enabling rapid disinfection and removal of diverse pollutants from water without added chemicals or rare metals.
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BibTeX
@article{lin2026polymercoated,
title = {{A polymer-coated nanowire sponge–based contact electrocatalytic system for simultaneous disinfection and removal of multiple micropollutants}},
author = {Geng‐Sheng Lin and Arshad Khan and Kuldeep Kaswan and Shuai Wang and Manish Kumar Sharma and Ravindra Joshi and Meenakshi Ray and Ping-Yu Yang and Chun-Yo Ting and Ji Gao and Xing Xie and T. Wang and Zong-Hong Lin and Zhaohui Tong},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-73425-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73425-1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A polymer-coated nanowire sponge–based contact electrocatalytic system for simultaneous disinfection and removal of multiple micropollutants
AU - Geng‐Sheng Lin
AU - Arshad Khan
AU - Kuldeep Kaswan
AU - Shuai Wang
AU - Manish Kumar Sharma
AU - Ravindra Joshi
AU - Meenakshi Ray
AU - Ping-Yu Yang
AU - Chun-Yo Ting
AU - Ji Gao
AU - Xing Xie
AU - T. Wang
AU - Zong-Hong Lin
AU - Zhaohui Tong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/23
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-73425-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73425-1
AB - The removal of diverse contaminants in wastewater remains a major challenge due to low treatment efficiencies, high catalyst costs, and risks of residual chemicals. In this work, we introduce a polymer-coated nanowire sponge (PNS) based contact electro-catalysis (CEC) system for achieving the disinfection of microorganisms and the degradation of multiple micropollutants. Under ultrasonic stimulation, PNS facilitates interfacial electron transfer and generates a high rate of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Its synergistic ROS generation and static charge electroporation achieve over 99% disinfection within 3 minutes while degrading dyes, waste tire leachate, and reducing heavy metal ions in wastewater under ambient conditions. The system also exhibits a high hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production rate of 20.2 ± 0.1 μmol h⁻¹. Furthermore, PNS demonstrates excellent versatility, ease of recovery, and reusability, highlighting its strong potential for both point-of-use and large-scale wastewater treatment applications. A polymer-coated nanowire sponge utilizes mechanical energy to produce reactive oxygen species, enabling rapid disinfection and removal of diverse pollutants from water without added chemicals or rare metals.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -