Full Solar‐Spectrum‐Driven Antibacterial Therapy over Hierarchical Sn₃O₄/PDINH with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

Antibacterial photocatalytic therapy (APCT) is considered to be a potential treatment for administrating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, due to the low photocatalytic efficiency and weak ability to capture bacteria, it is not practically applied. In this work, an organic-metal oxide hybrid semiconductor heterostructure is fabricated for the photocatalytic generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to kill the drug-resistant bacteria. The organic semiconductor, perylene diimide (PDI), can self-assemble on Sn₃ O₄ nanosheets to form a "hook-and-loop" sticky surface that can capture bacteria, via large numbers of hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking interactions, which are not possible in inorganic semiconductors. This easy-to-fabricate hybrid semiconductor also possesses improved photocatalytic activity, which is owing to the formation of heterostructure that achieves full-spectrum absorption, and the reduction of the photocarrier recombination rate to produce more reactive oxygen species. It has a good promoting effect on the wounds of mice infected by Staphylococcus aureus. This work shows new ideas for fabricating smart full-spectrum inorganic-organic hybrid adhesive heterostructure photocatalysts for antibacterial photocatalytic therapy.