Facile Preparation of the ZnSe/Ag 2 Se Binary Heterojunction for Photocatalytic Antibacterial Efficiency.

In a novel approach that capitalized on the differential solubility product (K sp ) of ZnSe and Ag 2 Se, a unique ZnSe/Ag 2 Se binary heterostructure was efficiently synthesized in situ. ZnSe/Ag 2 Se exhibited excellent antimicrobial efficiency under visible light. Incorporating Ag 2 Se into ZnSe significantly enhanced the photoelectric performance of the catalyst, greatly accelerating the separation of the photogenerated electrons in the system. Active species removal experiments determined that ·O 2 - and H 2 O 2 played crucial roles in photocatalytic antibacterial efficiency. Further investigation into the levels of cellular membrane peroxidation, bacterial morphology, and intracellular contents concentration revealed that during the photocatalytic antimicrobial process, reactive oxygen species initially oxidize phospholipids in the cell membrane, leading to damage to the external structure of the cell and leakage of the intracellular contents, ultimately resulting in bacteria inactivation. The photocatalytic antimicrobial process of ZnSe/Ag 2 Se fundamentally deviates from conventional methods, offering new insights into efficient disinfection and photocatalytic antimicrobial mechanisms.