Green rapid synthesis of Cu2O/Ag heterojunctions exerting synergistic antibiosis

Semiconductor-noble metal composite has become a research focus due to its superior performance compared with its respective component. Although various methods have been developed to synthesize semiconductor-noble metal heterostructures, most of them are relatively complex multistep and use toxic reactants of high cost and risk. In this work, a series of Cu2O/Ag heterojunctions were quickly prepared in one step via simple microwave-assisted green route. XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, XPS, etc. were used to characterize obtained products, and the results indicate a Cu2O/Ag metal-semiconductor heterojunction in micro-nano size was fabricated successfully. In addition, antibacterial behavior of Cu2O/Ag heterojunctions against E. coli and S. aureus were investigated. Owing to the synergistic effect of Cu2O and Ag, the heterojunction exhibits much better antibacterial performance than the pristine Cu2O does. This work provides new insights into the green design and fabrication of surface-modified Cu2O hybrid multifunctional materials for antibacterial applications.