Photocatalytic activity and synergistic antibacterial effects of PCN-222@AgNPs under visible light irradiation

Ag NPs were generated by reducing silver ions with sodium borohydride and then loaded into a zirconium-based MOF, PCN-222, resulting in a deep purple powder, PCN-222@AgNPs, which exhibited photocatalytic activity. The material was characterized and found to have Ag NPs uniformly dispersed in the pores of PCN-222, with a content of 6.0306%. PCN-222@AgNPs had rod-shaped structures of micrometer sizes with irregular spherical Ag NPs on their surfaces, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In experiments on Ag NPs release and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection, PCN-222@AgNPs effectively released Ag NPs into an aqueous solution and promote ROS generation. Finally, the antibacterial activities of PCN-222@AgNPs against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were assessed by in vitro experiments. Results indicated that PCN-222@AgNPs had lower minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) compared to PCN-222 in both light and dark environments. The MBC further decreased under light conditions due to the enhanced photocatalytic performance of the composite material and the promotion of Ag NPs release by ROS. These findings demonstrate that PCN-222@AgNPs have synergistic antibacterial effects under visible light irradiation.