Defect regulation of p-n scheme Cu2N O1–/PDINH composites for enhanced photocatalytic antibacterial activities

The defect regulation and p-n heterojunction of composites have gained significant attention due to their potential applications. Nitrogen (N) as doping heteroatoms and perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboximide (PDINH) as an appropriate n-type semiconductor were innovatively and reasonably selected to enhance the photocatalytic performance of pristine p-type cuprous oxide (Cu2O). In this study, the defect regulation of N doping (1) achieved the small-size effect of Cu2O, (2) optimized the electron features, and (3) improved the kinetics of reactive oxygen species. The p-n heterojunction with PDINH was developed to sharply improve the light utilization of Cu2O, from the UV region to the near-infrared region. As expected, the optimized Cu2NxO1–x/PDINH (x = 0.02) exhibited excellent long-term photocatalytic antibacterial activities, with antibacterial rates exceeding 91% against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Defect regulation and p-n heterojunction of Cu2O-based composites thus provide a great deal of potential for future advancements in photocatalysis.