Visible light-induced antibacterial effect of MoS2: Effect of the synthesis methods

Abstract Molybdenum disulfides (MoS2) has attracted much attention as an efficient catalyst for sterilization. However, the structures and preparation methods on the bactericidal effect of MoS2 were not very clear currently. In this work, MoS2 were prepared through three ways containing ultrasonic, hydrothermal, intercalation methods, and they possessed different morphologies and structures which was confirmed by XRD, Raman and UV–Vis characterizations. E. coli was inactivated to evaluate the photo-induced antibacterial properties of these MoS2 under light (18 W) condition. Results showed that the sterilization rate of the MoS2 prepared by ultrasonic (US-MoS2), hydrothermal (HY-MoS2), intercalation (IN-MoS2) method can reach 33%, 62% and 99% after 180 min of exposure, respectively. In order to figure out the factors that affected the photo-induced antibacterial properties of MoS2, the morphologies, structures and photo-catalytic properties of MoS2 prepared via different methods were compared systematically. Results showed that the IN-MoS2 had higher metal phase content, better light responsiveness and smaller size than those of US-MoS2 and HY-MoS2. Also, the IN-MoS2 had the highest photo-induced antibacterial effect. The antibacterial mechanism was studied by capture agent experiment and ESR test, and the results showed that the main active substance in the photo-induced antibacterial process was electrons.