The widespread occurrence of antimicrobial-resistance-associated contaminants in natural and engineered water systems poses a major threat to environmental and public health. Conventional contact-electro-catalysis (CEC) can generate interfacial H2O2 and reactive oxygen species, but its efficiency is often constrained by sluggish H2O2 activation and limited reactive oxygen species flux. Here, we report an additive-free contact-electro-catalysis/vacuum ultraviolet (CEC-VUV) system that uses low-cost polytetrafluoroethylene as a dielectric catalyst for rapid mitigation of antibiotics, pathogens, and antibiotic resistance genes in water. Mechanistic analyses reveal that VUV irradiation activates CEC-derived H2O2 and O3 through charge-photon coupling, converting these otherwise underutilized intermediates into •OH. CEC continuously supplies interfacial charges and H2O2, while VUV promotes H2O2 photolysis and O2-to-O3 conversion. The generated O3 is further activated at the charged polytetrafluoroethylene/water interface, establishing an interconnected H2O2/O3-to-•OH conversion network that amplifies •OH generation. This mechanism enables complete degradation of representative antibiotics within 10 min, complete inactivation of pathogenic bacteria within 5 min, effective antibiotic resistance gene removal in real water matrices, and stable bactericidal performance under continuous-flow operation.
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Reference: Research (Wash D C). 2026 Jul 1:9:1348.
