CHALLENGES OF TIO2-COMPOSITE, AS A VISIBLE ACTIVE PHOTOCATALYST MATERIAL FOR SARS-COV-2 ANTIVIRAL COMPARED WITH THE OTHER VIRUSES

The efforts in dealing with COVID-19 in various aspects are continuously being carried out, such as the photocatalytic process. Interestingly, TiO2 plays an important role as an environmentally friendly photocatalyst with a visible and UV absorption range. The increase in the antiviral performance of this compound is further maximized by formulating TiO2-based composites and doping it to reduce the bandgap. This review aims to determine the challenges of TiO2-based composite as a visible active photocatalyst material for SARS-CoV-2 antiviral. It presents a discussion of the photocatalytic function of TiO2, by comparing the secondary data obtained from viruses that have been successfully degraded by the SARS-CoV-2. The literature search led to the analysis of the photocatalyst quality, structure, composition, and the degraded viruses. This comparison was based on the photocatalyst’s general constituents, such as protein and RNA. The virus morphology as observed in the secondary data was successfully destroyed by hydroxyl radicals resulting from the photocatalytic processes. It was observed that TiO2 photocatalyst generated ROS, capable of inactivating various viruses, therefore, it has the potential in fighting against the SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, further research is needed in photocatalyst design, its role, and the overall mechanism of virus inactivation.