LAUSR

Hybrid Cuprous oxide-silver (Cu2O-Ag) have attracted tremendous attention due to their various applications in photocatalysis, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and optical features. Here we expanded the application to exhibit excellent chemical stability and synergistic bactericidal. We prepared Cu2O-Ag heterostructure through thermally decomposing Ag-acetate to deposit Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) onto Cu2O surface. Cu2O-Ag heterostructure bears exceptional stability while exposing to oxygen, water, and light, owing to the physical coating of Ag NPs and transferring the electrons and holes inside the Cu2O to the surface through a Schottky barrier to prevent photocorrosion. The deposition of Ag NPs also improved the intensity and time of oxidative stress reaction of Cu2O, proved by reactive oxygen species (ROS) examination. Ag NPs distributed on the surface of Cu2O particles formed a large of ion release channel, resulting in excellent sustained release of copper ions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to investigate the mechanism of photocatalysis and ROS generation. The constructed Cu2O-Ag heterostructure exhibit highly long-term sterilization activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) which were maintained around 70% and 80% and were increased by 40% and 50% compared with free Cu2O after being immersed in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solutions within 14 days.