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ZnO nanorods (NRs) with an average length and diameter of 186 and 20 nm, respectively, were prepared through a mild solvothermal route and used as photocatalysts either as dispersed powder or immobilized on glass slides. The ZnO NRs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Dispersed ZnO NRs and, to a lesser extent, immobilized ZnO NRs were demonstrated to exhibit high photocatalytic activity under simulated sunlight of low intensity (5.5 mW/cm2) both for the degradation of the Orange II dye and for Escherichia coli bacterial decontamination (2.5-fold survival decrease after 180 min irradiation for immobilized NRs). SEM, atomic force microscopy (AFM), fluorescence spectroscopy, and epifluorescence microscopy demonstrate that cell surface damages are responsible of bacterial inactivation. The immobilized ZnO NRs could be reused up to five times for bacterial decontamination at comparable efficiency and therefore have great potential for real environmental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]