Heterojunction nanofibers of PAN decorated with sulfate doped Ag3PO4 nanoparticles (SO42--Ag3PO4/PAN electrospun nanofibers) were successfully fabricated by combining simple and versatile electrospinning technique with ion exchange reaction. The novel material possessing good flexibility could exhibit superior antibacterial property over sulfate undoped species (Ag3PO4/PAN electrospun nanofibers). FESEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS and DRS were applied to characterize the morphology, phase structure, bonding configuration, elemental composition, and optical properties of the as fabricated samples. FESEM characterization confirmed the successful incorporation of SO42--Ag3PO4 nanoparticles on PAN electrospun nanofibers. The doping of SO42- ions into Ag3PO4 crystal lattice by replacing PO43- ions can provide sufficient electron-hole separation capability to the SO42--Ag3PO4/PAN heterojunction to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) under visible light irradiation and enhances its antibacterial performance. Finally, we hope this work may offer a new paradigm to design and fabricate other types of flexible self-supporting negative-ions-doped heterojunction nanofibers using electrospinning technique for bactericidal applications.
Keywords: SO42−-Ag3PO4/PAN heterojunction; antibacterial; electrospinning; reactive oxygen species; visible light.