Antibacterial properties of Ag/TiO(2)/PDA nanofilm on anodized 316L stainless steel substrate under illumination by a normal flashlight

The demand of medical materials for rapid and efficient elimination of bacteria has seen a dramatic surge over the past few years. In this study, antibacterial nanofilms with reactive oxygen species were generated by photocatalysis. To prepare these nanofilms, Ag and amorphous TiO(2) nanoparticles decorated on polydopamine (PDA) were coated on three-dimensional (3D) nanopore arrays, which was fabricated on a substrate of anodized stainless steel. All the antibacterial tests were conducted with a household flashlight, which may be considered as a practical approach for antibacterial materials. The photoelectrochemical property of the 3D Ag/TiO(2)/PDA nanofilm on 316L stainless steel (Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS) was about 15 times higher than that of the annealed Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS, and consequently, it exhibited higher antibacterial activity. The enhanced photoelectrochemical property is attributed to the successful separation of electrons (amorphous TiO(2)) and holes (Ag nanoparticles). Further, when a plate containing 3D Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS was irradiated with visible light just for 10 min, it immediately destroyed the bacteria in 10(6) CFU/mL without any bacterial colony. After five weeks, there were still no bacterial colonies in the plate corresponding to Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS under visible light, while Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS in dark had a negligible effect on the bacteria, i.e., the antibacterial mechanism through direct contact and ion dissolution was not efficient. The excellent antibacterial properties of 3D Ag/TiO(2)/PDA SS illuminated by flashlight provides an efficient, facile, and cost-effective technique for the development of antibacterial medical materials to meet the increasing demand of eliminating bacterial infections. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10853-020-04610-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.