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Cu/N co-doped TiO2 nanopowder with high antibacterial activity under visible light

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Abstract

Cu/N co-doped TiO2 nanopowder was prepared with a facile sol–gel method. In the absence of stabilizing agents, the co-doped nanopowder with nanoscaled particle sizes was obtained. Doping didn’t change the anatase crystal structure of TiO2. Cuprite Cu2Cl(OH)3 formed in the co-doped nanopowder. Based on ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data, the mechanisms of significantly improved photocatalytic activity of the co-doped nanopowder were discussed. The antibacterial evaluation and cytotoxicity test suggested the nanopowder inhibited bacteria significantly under visible light and had ultralow cytotoxicity. This work provided a promising antibacterial agent with potential biomedical applications.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this paper and the Supplementary Materials.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the Start-up project for Introduced Talents of Shanghai Institute of Technology (YJ2021-2) and Shanghai Institute of Technology Collaborative Innovation Project (XTCX2020-11).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China

    Jinkun Yin, Yaoqing Chu & Lianjiang Tan

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  1. Jinkun Yin
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  2. Yaoqing Chu
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  3. Lianjiang Tan
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Contributions

JY performed the experiments; LT and JY were responsible for data analysis; JY wrote the paper under the guidance of YC and LT; All authors contributed to the general discussion.

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Correspondence to Yaoqing Chu or Lianjiang Tan.

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Yin, J., Chu, Y. & Tan, L. Cu/N co-doped TiO2 nanopowder with high antibacterial activity under visible light. MRS Communications 13, 538–545 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-023-00377-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-023-00377-8

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