Porous fluorinated SnO₂ hollow nanospheres: Transformative self-assembly and photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria

Highly porous surface fluorinated SnO₂ hollow nanospheres (SnO₂(F) HNS) were produced in high yield by a hydrothermal treatment of stannous fluoride in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Two important processes in terms of oriented self-assembly and in situ self-transformation were highlighted for the formation of as-prepared SnO₂(F) HNS, which were largely relying on the directing effects of selected specific chemical species in the present synthesis system. Significantly, these SnO₂(F) HNS showed considerable activity in photocatalytic inactivation of a surface negatively charged bacterium, Escherichia coli K-12, in aqueous saline solution. The dominant reactive species involved in the inactivation process were also identified.