Preparation of Ag/CuV2O6 nanowires and investigation of the delayed antibacterial effect of fluorescent materials on photocatalysts

In this study, an Ag/CuV 2 O 6 composite was constructed by loading Ag NPs onto CuV 2 O 6 nanowires through a sodium borohydride reduction method. The introduction of Ag NPs significantly enhanced the photocatalytic antibacterial effect of CuV 2 O 6 . Specifically, the material exhibited the optimal photocatalytic antibacterial performance when the Ag loading was 3%. During the antibacterial process, as the illuminated time increases, the membrane structure of bacteria is gradually impaired, and intracellular contents including K + , RNA, and proteins are gradually leaked out, ultimately resulting in bacterial inactivation. EPR and free radical scavenging experiments have confirmed that reactive oxygen species (ROS), including singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ) and superoxide anion radicals (·O 2 - ), generated via photocatalysis, are the main factors in killing bacteria. As an excellent electron transporter, Ag effectively promotes the separation of electron-hole pairs in CuV 2 O 6 , enhances the generation efficiency of ROS, and thereby improves the photocatalytic antibacterial activity. To address the limitation of photocatalysis requiring continuous light irradiation, the long-afterglow fluorescent material ZnGa 2 O 4 :0.5%Tb 3+ was further introduced. Under intermittent light irradiation, the material stores energy upon excitation by the light source. After the light irradiation is terminated, it continues to activate the Ag/CuV 2 O 6 composite, allowing the generation of ROS even in the dark and thus achieving a delayed antibacterial effect. This study provides a new strategy to reduce the dependence of photocatalytic antibacterial technology on continuous light sources.