A comparative study of the antibacterial properties of copper-based transparent oxides at the solid–liquid interface

Abstract This study investigates the antibacterial properties of CuCrO 2 (CCO) films fabricated by sputter deposition followed by calcination. The effects of the doped magnesium and the film fabrication in nitrogen atmosphere on both CCO crystallinity and antibacterial properties are compared. The antibacterial properties are evaluated using the plate counting method, and the crystallinity of the films are analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The results show the proliferation of Escherichia coli colonies that can be suppressed within 3 h, with magnesium-doped CCO showing the best antibacterial properties of all samples. This is explained by the formation of CuO byproduct during fabrication.