Mo₂C nanosheets decorated with boron dipyrromethene enabling photothermal and photodynamic attributes for highly efficient antibacterials

The advancement of novel MXene materials characterized by heightened stability and remarkable antibacterial attributes has garnered substantial attention in recent research endeavours. In this article, it is first time to prepare boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) modified Mo₂C nanosheets (BODIPY-Mo₂C) via electrostatic interactions to achieve the desirable antibacterial property, enriching by both photothermal and photodynamic effects. The photothermal conversion efficiency of the produced Mo₂C nanosheets reached to 42.6 %. Furthermore, in the photothermal antibacterial tests against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli), both Mo₂C and BODIPY-Mo₂C demonstrated 100 % antibacterial efficiency at a concentration of 100 μg·mL⁻¹. Remarkably, at a lower concentration gradient of 75 μg·mL⁻¹, BODIPY-Mo₂C nanosheets showed clearly enhanced antibacterial capabilities compared to pure Mo₂C, underscoring the efficacy of BODIPY in boosting the antibacterial performance of Mo₂C. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.