Accelerating the Design of Photocatalytic Surfaces for Antimicrobial Application: Machine Learning Based on a Sparse Dataset
, El Tayeb Bentria 1, Sami Rtimi 2,3,*, Abdelilah Arredouani 4,5, Halima Bensmail 6 and Fedwa El-Mellouhi 1,*Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This manuscripts uses techniques of machine learning to evaluate a photocatalytic reaction with the aim of accelerating the reaction rate for real world applications. They have chosen dataset from a previously published paper. This is a publishable manuscript and would be of interest to the general readership of the journal. In my opinion the authors have focused a lot on the use of photocatalysts in destroying pathogens on surfaces. I think the introduction should be more about different kinds of photocatalysts and their structure function relationships and less about fomite transmission and Covid-19. The authors should also include the reaction scheme along with the table of the dataset they are using.
Author Response
Reviewer #1 comment #1
This manuscripts uses techniques of machine learning to evaluate a photocatalytic reaction with the aim of accelerating the reaction rate for real world applications. They have chosen dataset from a previously published paper. This is a publishable manuscript and would be of interest to the general readership of the journal. In my opinion the authors have focused a lot on the use of photocatalysts in destroying pathogens on surfaces.
I think the introduction should be more about different kinds of photocatalysts and their structure function relationships and less about fomite transmission and Covid-19.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for this constructive suggestion. Actually, we are starting a new project about different parameters influencing the photocatalytic oxidation of pollutants (chemical or biological). In this project, the surface-reactivity relationship is the guiding line. The actual manuscript under your hands aims to highlight the photocatalytic materials’ optimization for microbial inactivation in a hospital setting, especially in this pandemic era. the context is to highlight the need to accelerate the development of photocatalyst for surface disinfection.
Other studies on the subject are being prepared by the team.
Reviewer #1, comment #2
The authors should also include the reaction scheme along with the table of the dataset they are using.
Answer: In the revised manuscript, Figure 1 illustrates the mechanism of ROS generation on the surface of semiconducting nanoparticles and the effects of ROS activity on organic substances and microorganism.
As per your suggestion, we also added the table of data in the supplementary information section.
Reviewer 2 Report
Review Report
catalysts-1320210
The manuscript is interesting. It describes a nice work and it is very sound. It could be of interest to many readers.
In my opinion, it deserves publication.
Following revisions are suggested:
Please decide on a title because a title is written in the system and another title is written in the manuscript.
Same problem with the abstract. You have 2 distinct abstracts.
I suggest the author to spend some time to polishing and to carefully correct some grammatical mistakes: e.g in the system submission you introduced at abstract “….antimicrobial activity is unknown for a large spectrum of micoorganisms”. Please replace microorganisms with microorganisms
The conclusion section should be deepened.
Author Response
Reviewer #2, comment #1
Please decide on a title because a title is written in the system and another title is written in the manuscript.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for drawing our attention to this mistake. Now, the correct title is presented in the submission system and on the manuscript. The title reads: “Accelerating the design of photocatalytic surfaces for antimicrobial application: machine learning based on a sparse dataset”
Reviewer #2, comment #2
Same problem with the abstract. You have 2 distinct abstracts.
Answer: We amended these differences in the manuscript.
Reviewer #2, comment #3
I suggest the author to spend some time to polishing and to carefully correct some grammatical mistakes: e.g in the system submission you introduced at abstract “….antimicrobial activity is unknown for a large spectrum of micoorganisms”. Please replace microorganisms with microorganism.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for this note. In this revised version, we have corrected the grammatical error through the manuscript, including the highlighted typo.
Reviewer #2, comment #4
The conclusion section should be deepened.
Answer: We understand the reviewer’s concern. Indeed, we elaborated the conclusion section to be make it deeper and more focused on this work and our findings.
Reviewer 3 Report
The authors described a model based on machine learning methods for accelerating the design and optimisation of antimicrobial surfaces. Through this strategy it was aimed to accelerate the mass deployment of photocatalytic materials to prevent the transmission of pathogens. The research design approach is original and interesting for the development of new materials. However, it is recommended that the authors take into account the following recommendations to improve the manuscript:
- At line 73 it should be included in a table the most commonly used biocidal agents and most frequently occurring diseases for surface disinfection. Antimicrobial photoactive materials can also be included here.
- At line 89 it should be included a graphical figure in which the mechanism of inactivation of viruses and bacteria is easily explained.
- Rewrite lines 90-98 and avoid expressions such as "When we optimise a" or "We propose a"
- In the Introduction section it should be contextualised, emphasising the use of Au-Ag/TiO2 photocatalysts in a photocatalytic system combined with O2 for the inactivation of pathogens.
- Revise typographical errors as "nanoparticle co-calalysts, where".
- In lines 281-288 avoid mentioning references that are not related to pathogen inactivation. A textile dye or the removal of a contaminant may subvert the main objective of the research.
- The terminology air-water-catalysts is incorrect. Replace it with gas-liquid-solid (G-L-S).
- In lines 316-319 it should be indicated the concentration of H2O2 allowed to ensure sanitary levels.
- The statement of lines 320-324 is not supported by any evidence in the main text. It should be included a reference that supports, through the band gap, that the Au-Ag/TiO2 material proposed is active in visible light.
Author Response
At line 73 it should be included in a table the most commonly used biocidal agents and most frequently occurring diseases for surface disinfection. Antimicrobial photoactive materials can also be included here.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for the suggestion. The actual study as stated in the title aims to accelerate the photocatalytic surfaces activity. Elucidating other biocide materials in a table can be added in a review paper and is out of the scope of the actual manuscript.
Reviewer #3, comment #2
At line 89 it should be included a graphical figure in which the mechanism of inactivation of viruses and bacteria is easily explained.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for the constructive comment. In the revised manuscript, a schematic figure 1 have been added to describe the mechanism of inactivation.
Reviewer #3, comment #3
Rewrite lines 90-98 and avoid expressions such as "When we optimise a" or "We propose a"
Answer: As the reviewer suggested, we rephrased the paragraph in lines 133-141 in the revised manuscript.
Reviewer #3, comment #4
In the Introduction section it should be contextualised, emphasising the use of Au-Ag/TiO2 photocatalysts in a photocatalytic system combined with O2 for the inactivation of pathogens.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for this suggestion. To our knowledge, there have been only a few reports reporting on the ROS generation on Au-Ag/TiO2 catalyst. The few papers we found are not dealing with microbial inactivation and will thus “subvert the main objective of the research” as suggested by the respected reviewer in a later comment.
Reviewer #3, comment #5
Revise typographical errors as "nanoparticle co-calalysts, where".
Answer: We thank the reviewer for pointing out this. We corrected the typographical error.
Reviewer #3, comment #6
In lines 281-288 avoid mentioning references that are not related to pathogen inactivation. A textile dye or the removal of a contaminant may subvert the main objective of the research.
Answer: We thank the reviewer for the comment. The irrelevant references are removed in the revised version.
Reviewer #3, comment #7
The terminology air-water-catalysts is incorrect. Replace it with gas-liquid-solid (G-L-S).
Answer: We thank the reviewer for the comment. We amended the terminology.
Reviewer #3, comment #8
In lines 316-319 it should be indicated the concentration of H2O2 allowed to ensure sanitary levels.
Answer: As suggested by the reviewer, we added the exposure limits with the reference [43] NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards.
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0335.html. (Accessed July 22 2021).
Reviewer #3, comment #9
The conclusion section should be deepened
Answer: We understand the reviewer’s concern. We elaborated the conclusion section to be deepened on the objective of this work and its results.
Reviewer 4 Report
The authors present new generalized additive models, which were trained using the literature data of H2O2 production rates by TiO2 photocatalyst loaded with different amounts of metallic AuxAg(1-x) nanoparticle co-catalysts, where 0≤?≤1. They built this scheme to accelerate the estimation of reaction rate in photocatalytic materials. The proposed composition would give a balanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon controlled illumination, offering an opportunity for continuous disinfection of water, surfaces, and air. The authors estimate that the photocatalytic system proposed in this work could be efficient for the continuous deactivation of bacteria and enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 if tailored adequately.
Page 3, raw 119: co-calalysts à co-catalysts
Author Response
The authors present new generalized additive models, which were trained using the literature data of H2O2 production rates by TiO2 photocatalyst loaded with different amounts of metallic AuxAg(1-x) nanoparticle co-catalysts, where 0≤?≤1. They built this scheme to accelerate the estimation of reaction rate in photocatalytic materials. The proposed composition would give a balanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon controlled illumination, offering an opportunity for continuous disinfection of water, surfaces, and air. The authors estimate that the photocatalytic system proposed in this work could be efficient for the continuous deactivation of bacteria and enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 if tailored adequately.
Page 3, raw 119: co-calalysts à co-catalysts
Answer: We are thankful to the referee for his/her very positive feedback on our manuscript. The typo mentioned have been corrected.
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Congratulations to the authors for the research. The manuscript was improved according to the recommendations. I suggest that the manuscript be accepted for publication.
