Rapid Ferroelectric-Photoexcited Bacteria-Killing of Bi4Ti3O12/Ti3C2T x Nanofiber Membranes

Zhiying Wang; Jianfang Li; Yuqian Qiao; Xiangmei Liu; Yufeng Zheng; Zhaoyang Li; Jie Shen; Yu Zhang; Shengli Zhu; Hui Jiang; Yanqin Liang; Zhenduo Cui; Paul K Chu; Shuilin Wu

doi:10.1007/s42765-022-00234-8

Rapid Ferroelectric-Photoexcited Bacteria-Killing of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/Ti₃C₂T _x Nanofiber Membranes

Adv Fiber Mater. 2023;5(2):484-496. doi: 10.1007/s42765-022-00234-8. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

Authors

Zhiying Wang¹, Jianfang Li¹, Yuqian Qiao², Xiangmei Liu³, Yufeng Zheng^{2

4}, Zhaoyang Li¹, Jie Shen⁵, Yu Zhang⁴, Shengli Zhu¹, Hui Jiang¹, Yanqin Liang¹, Zhenduo Cui¹, Paul K Chu⁶, Shuilin Wu^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ The Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology by the Ministry of Education of China, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 China.
² School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China.
³ School of Health Science and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401 China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080 China.
⁵ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Spine Surgery, Department of Spine Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036 China.
⁶ Department of Physics, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077 China.

Abstract

In this study, an antibacterial nanofiber membrane [polyvinylidene fluoride/Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/Ti₃C₂T _x (PVDF/BTO/Ti₃C₂T _x )] is fabricated using an electrostatic spinning process, in which the self-assembled BTO/Ti₃C₂T _x heterojunction is incorporated into the PVDF matrix. Benefiting from the internal electric field induced by the spontaneously ferroelectric polarization of BTO, the photoexcited electrons and holes are driven to move in the opposite direction inside BTO, and the electrons are transferred to Ti₃C₂T _x across the Schottky interface. Thus, directed charge separation and transfer are realized through the cooperation of the two components. The recombination of electron-hole pairs is maximumly inhibited, which notably improves the yield of reactive oxygen species by enhancing photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, the nanofiber membrane with an optimal doping ratio exhibits outstanding visible light absorption and photothermal conversion performance. Ultimately, photothermal effect and ferroelectric polarization enhanced photocatalysis endow the nanofiber membrane with the ability to kill 99.61% ± 0.28% Staphylococcus aureus and 99.71% ± 0.16% Escherichia coli under 20 min of light irradiation. This study brings new insights into the design of intelligent antibacterial textiles through a ferroelectric polarization strategy.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42765-022-00234-8.

Keywords: Antibacterial nanofiber; Ferroelectric polarization; Photocatalysis; Schottky heterojunction; Ti3C2Tx.

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