Prolonging banana shelf life through visible light-induced ethylene scavenging using manganese-decorated TiO2 via KMnO4 reduction

Apart from being a good source of nutrition, bananas are also an essential worldwide commodity. However, bananas exhibit fast ripening and low shelf life, especially after artificial ripening. TiO2 can act as an ethylene scavenger through photocatalytic degradation of ethylene. In this work, Mn-decorated TiO2 was synthesized through MnO4- reduction on the surface of P25 TiO2. The aim is to prolong the shelf life of artificially ripened bananas. Based on characterization results, we found that Mn decoration increased absorption of visible light, with the interaction between TiO2 and Mn predicted to be a type I heterojunction. The photocatalytic activity was tested by ethylene photodegradation. It was found that TiO2/Mn was able to partially oxidize ethylene to formic acid under visible light. Furthermore, bananas stored in a fruit storage chamber with TiO2/Mn showed a 2-day delay in color change. This confirms that TiO2/Mn can be used as an ethylene scavenger. [Display omitted] •Addresses banana's short shelf life, caused by ethylene-induced ripening.•Titania photocatalyst was used as an ethylene scavenger via photo-oxidation.•Manganese decoration was done to create a visible light-sensitive photocatalyst.•Mn-decorated TiO2 was able to partially oxidize ethylene into formic acid.•Bananas stored with Mn-decorated TiO2 displayed delayed color changes.