CuI-BiOI/Cu film for enhanced photo-induced charge separation and visible-light antibacterial activity

Abstract CuI-BiOI/Cu film with effective photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli under visible-light-driven (VLD) were prepared on copper sheet and were characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, XPS and DRS. The photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli of CuI, BiOI, CuI-BiOI and CuI-BiOI/Cu film were investigated. The results showed that CuI-BiOI/Cu film exhibit the most excellent bacteria disinfection activity, and the quantity of viable bacteria could almost inactivate after being illuminated for 2 h. The Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) observation exhibits that the morphology of bacteria changed a lot after visible light irradiation, and the UV spectra confirm the leakage of bacterial protein. The antibacterial mechanism was studied by employing photoelectrochemical techniques and scavengers of different reactive species, which reveals that the effect of reactive species on the antibacterial activity decrease in order h + > e − > H 2 O 2 > HO > O 2 − . The CuI and Cu play the important role in the separation of h + and e − . During the photocatalytic process, the CuI act as a hole-transport channel and the Cu act as electron transfer for CuI-BiOI heterostructure, which promotes the separation of photogenerated charges and enhances the photocatalytic antibacterial activity of the as-prepared samples.