Visible light-supported efficient photocatalytic disinfection using a robust silver-doped boron photocatalyst

Photocatalytic sterilization is attracting attention because of its potential to prevent the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.Here, a novel silver-doped boron (AgB) photocatalyst was synthesized through a facile photodeposition approach, which was comprehensively characterized and implemented in photocatalytic disinfection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). Compared with boron without doping, AgB demonstrated superior photocatalytic disinfection activity (5.57-log reduction in 60 min) towards Escherichia coil K-12 under solar light irradiation. More importantly, no ARB regrowth after 48 h was observed after the treatment by AgB-assisted photocatalysis. This efficient and stable disinfection was achieved because the doped Ag serves as an electron mediator, facilitating rapid electron transfer and effective separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs. Moreover, the tight bonding between Ag and boron reduces the dissolution of silver ions and improves the catalytic stability. These two features jointly benefit the production of reactive species, and the trapping experiments suggested that holes (h⁺) and superoxide radicals (•O₂⁻) played dominant roles in bacterial inactivation.