Carboxyl group-decorated polythiophenes polymeric PBTE-T-COOH for visible-light-driven photocatalytic drug-resistant bacteria inactivation

Recently, photocatalytic technology has become a focus in the field of environmental protection and has attracted the attention of the public. Therefore, nontoxic and metal-free photocatalysts will be the key to sustainable development. In this project, a superior and effective polythiophene (PTh)-conjugated polymer photocatalyst was synthesized using a simple Stille coupling polymerization method, and it was used for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) inactivation. The prepared poly [5-(4,4-bis (2-ethyloctyl)− 4 H-cyclopenta(2,1-b:3,4-b′) dithiophen-2-yl) thiophene-3-carboxyic acid] (PBTE-T-COOH) was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UVVis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UVvis DRS). Further investigation indicated that at room temperature, 100% of the initial MRSA was killed in the presence of only 0.1 mg mL−1 PBTE-T-COOH photocatalyst within 120 min of visible light irradiation. This study proposes a simple strategy for the preparation of metal-free photocatalysts with high light utilization efficiency and excellent photocatalytic performance.