Photocatalytic performance and antibacterial mechanism of Cu/Ag-molybdate powder material

Abstract Mo-containing semiconductors have attracted significant attention because of their unique photosensitivity, rendering superior visible-light photocatalytic activity. The current study utilizes a combination of theoretical and experimental approaches to systematically investigate the correlation between crystal structure, morphology, photocatalytic activity and stability of rod-shaped copper molybdate (Cu3Mo2O9) and layered silver molybdate nanomaterials (Ag2MoO4). At the same time, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is used, as a model gram-negative bacterium, to demonstrate antimicrobial properties of Cu3Mo2O9 and Ag2MoO4. The results reveal that as-prepared Cu3Mo2O9 and Ag2MoO4 exhibit superior antibacterial performance and excellent photocatalytic activity. Finally, the antibacterial mechanism is proposed based on experimental results, revealing that the sterilization is achieved by ion sterilization and formation of a certain amount of ROS and medium acidification. The present work enhances our understanding of the Cu/Ag-molybdate antibacterial mechanism and demonstrates the feasibility of constructing Mo-containing photocatalysts with high photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities.