In recent years, the microbiological safety of water resources has attracted more and more attentions. Traditional disinfection technologies, including the chlorine disinfection and the UV disinfection, are unable to meet the needs of social development. The rapid progress of nanomaterials provides a good opportunity for developing a removal technology of pathogenic microorganisms in water. This paper reviews the removal of pathogenic microorganisms with nanomaterials, including the zero-valent metal nanomaterials such as the nano silver and the nanoscale zero-valent iron, the metal oxide nanomaterials such as the nano titanium dioxide and the carbon-based nanomaterials such as the carbon nanotubes. The removal mechanism of pathogenic microorganisms in water with nanomaterials is analyzed. The major factors affecting the removal of pathogenic microorganisms with nanomaterials are discussed from three aspects, including the nanomaterial characteristics (size, chemical composition, chemical structure, and surface modification), the microorganism (microbial species and initial concentration of microorganism) and the environmental conditions (pH value and dissolved oxygen). The existing problems and challenges in the application of the pathogenic microorganisms removal with nanomaterials are summarized, and the related suggestions are made.

nanomaterials  /  pathogenic microorganisms  /  water  /  bacteria  /  virus