LAUSR

Cu‐based nanomaterials have been developed to alleviate the problem of antibiotic resistance due to their superior properties and good biocompatibility. Defects in nanomaterials have a major role in improving photocatalytic performance. Herein, two CuS nanospheres with predominant VCuSCu and VCuSS vacancy (abbreviated as CuS and CuS‐T150, respectively) characterized by positron annihilation spectra are synthesized. The combination of experimental and theoretical calculation results demonstrates that CuS‐T150 exhibits excellent antibacterial, achieving bactericidal rates of 99.9% against to Escherichia coli (E. coli) under 808 nm laser irradiation. Compared with CuS, the superior antimicrobial activity of CuS‐T150 is mainly attributed to its stronger ability to adsorb oxygen molecules, more easily bind with surface of E. coli, and higher photothermal conversion efficiency (PTCE). This work provides a deeper understanding of nanomaterials with vacancy modulated the antibacterial efficiency by synergistic effect of photodynamic and photothermal therapy.