Boosting the visible-light-driven photocatalytic antibacterial performance of MoS nanosheets by poly(3-(4-methyl-3'-thiophenoxy))propyltrimethylammonium chloride (PThM) modification.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS) has been reported to possess photocatalytic bactericidal ability, but its efficiency is not high. In this paper, a water-soluble cationic conjugated polymer, poly(3-(4-methyl-3'-thiophenoxy))propyltrimethylammonium chloride (PThM), was designed to modify MoS and boost its antibacterial abilities. Another hydrophobic conjugated polymer, polythiophene (PTh), was synthesized and composited with MoS, and this was compared with PThM/MoS from the perspective of composite effectiveness. Studies involving the photo-disinfection of () under visible-light irradiation (30 W) showed that the antibacterial efficiencies were in the following order: PThM/MoS > PTh/MoS > MoS. The enhanced bactericidal activities of PThM/MoS and PTh/MoS were attributed to the conjugated polymers restraining the recombination of photogenerated carriers in MoS, thereby increasing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). PThM/MoS presented the best antibacterial efficiency because its cationic side-chains improved the solubility of the material and promoted contact between bacteria and the material. This work may provide some insights into the design of practical nano-antibacterial materials.