Visible-Light-Driven Ag-Modified TiO2 Thin Films Anchored on Bamboo Material with Antifungal Memory Activity against Aspergillus niger

A round-the-clock photocatalyst with energy-storage ability has piqued the interest of researchers for removing microbial contaminants from indoor environments. This work presents a moderate round-the-clock method for inhibiting the growth of fungus spores on bamboo materials using Ag-modified TiO2 thin films. Photoactivated antifungal coating with catalytic memory activity was assembled on a hydrophilic bamboo by first anchoring anatase TiO2 thin films (TB) via hydrogen bonding and then decorating them with Ag nanoparticles (ATB) via electrostatic interactions. Antifungal test results show that the Ag/TiO2 composite films grown on the bamboo surface produced a synergistic antifungal mechanism under both light and dark conditions. Interestingly, post-illumination catalytic memory was observed for ATB, as demonstrated by the inhibition of Aspergillus niger (A. niger) spores, in the dark after visible light was removed, which could be attributed to the transfer of photoexcited electrons from TiO2 to Ag, their trapping on Ag under visible-light illumination, and their release in the dark after visible light was removed. The mechanism study revealed that the immobilized Ag nanoparticles served the role of “killing two birds with one stone”: increasing visible-light absorption through surface plasmon resonance, preventing photogenerated electron–hole recombination by trapping electrons, and contributing to the generation of ●O2−and ●OH. This discovery creates a pathway for the continuous removal of indoor air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, bacteria, and fungus in the day and night time.