Luo, Jiaqi 
ORCID: 0000-0002-0973-2633, Ahmed, Aisha, Pierson, Jean-Francois and Muecklich, Frank
(2022)
Tailor the antibacterial efficiency of copper alloys by oxidation: when to and when not to.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE, 57 (5).
pp. 3807-3821.
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Copper and its relevant species, such as oxides and many alloys, have been recognised as potential antibacterial surfaces. Despite the relatively low antibacterial efficacy of cuprous oxide (Cu<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O) compared to pure copper, it is still worth consideration in some scenarios. Taking copper-nickel co-sputtered thin films with two copper contents (55 and 92 at.%) as examples, this work investigated the potential of oxidation in altering the antibacterial behaviour of copper alloy surfaces. By heat treatment at 200–250 °C for 20–24 h, a layer mainly composed of Cu<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O was successfully fabricated on the top of the Cu-Ni alloys. Antibacterial efficiency against <jats:italic>Escherichia coli</jats:italic> in 1 h was obtained by the droplet method and further compared. The coupons with 92 at.% copper became less effective after oxidation: the reduction rate declines from 97.0 to 74.3%; whereas the coupons with 55 at.% copper showed a large increase after oxidation, rising from 15.0 to 66.8%. The experiments described herein reveal a promising concept of oxidation in enhancing the less effective copper alloy surfaces for antibacterial applications.</jats:p> <jats:p><jats:bold>Graphical abstract</jats:bold></jats:p>
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 11 May 2022 13:21 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 21:03 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10853-022-06879-5 |
| Open Access URL: | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10853-0... |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3154615 |
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