Near infrared optically responsive Ag-Cu bimetallic 2D nanocrystals with controllable spatial structures

The optical properties of cost-effective Ag-Cu bimetallic nanocrystals, with synergistically enhanced catalytic and biological activities, are limited within ultraviolet–visible region due to lack of morphology control. In order to overcome this constraint, two-dimensional (2D) Ag-Cu bimetallic heterostructures were designed and synthesized by a seed-mediated colloidal growth method. The conformal Cu domain was epitaxially deposited on Ag nanoplates with different spatial configuration under retention of their 2D shape. Both of the 2D Ag-Cu core@shell and Janus structures display tunable localized surface plasmon resonance from visible to near infrared regions. The results of catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol show that the 2D Ag-Cu core@shell structure has better synergistic catalytic performance than Janus structure and Ag plates. In addition to surface-related synergistically enhanced bactericidal performance, their antibacterial effect can also be significantly enhanced by near infrared light irradiation. These results indicate that 2D Ag-Cu heterostructures can benefit from both synergistically improved surface activity and great optical responsive characteristics.