A solid strategy to realize efficient antibacterial activity on the shade surface of bulk silicon under natural or indoor lighting

Abstract

The dual threat posed by the transmission of surface-adhered pathogens and the rise of antibiotic resistance has emphasized the urgent demand for biosafe, potent, and broad-spectrum antibacterial surfaces. The application of conventional light-driven antibacterial strategies is hampered by the lack of sufficient illumination of the shade surface. To address this issue, a novel efficient antibacterial design satisfying the shade-side surface of bulk silicon continuous antibacterial under natural light, indoor ambient room lighting, or dark and dank environments has been developed by exploring synergistic antibacterial mechanisms. Herein, the p-n junction design is employed as the illuminating surface to efficiently transport the photogenerated holes to the shade-side surface, causing considerable photo-electrical injury to the bacteria, while the optimized nanowire structure fabricated on the shade-side surface by facile methods can simultaneously exacerbate the mechanical rupture of the bacteria. As a result, the shade-side surface prepared via the facile method exhibited synergistic broad-spectrum antibacterial behavior with 100 % inactivation against multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and multidrug-resistant Enterococcus. It is worth emphasizing that this work provides a promising strategy to endow the shade surface of bulk silicon with efficient antibacterial activity for real applications.