Photocatalytic and antibacterial properties of copper hydroxyphosphate with hierarchical superstructures synthesized by a hydrothermal method

Copper hydroxyphosphate, Cu2PO4OH, with various architectures was synthesized by adjusting pH values in a simple hydrothermal route. The photocatalytic activity of the Cu2PO4OH hierarchical superstructures was strongly related to their micro-morphology, as demonstrated by the degradation of eosin Y dye with a solar simulator. Excellent photocatalytic performance was achieved by Cu2PO4OH obtained under the pH values of 7 and 5. The antibacterial properties of the Cu2PO4OH complex superstructures were also explored by Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739) culturing. Cu2PO4OH showed apparent antibacterial properties but the samples obtained under the pH values of 5 and 7 exhibited better antibacterial properties than those of the Cu2PO4OH under the pH value of 2.5. Thus, Cu2PO4OH can be a promising photocatalyst with excellent antibacterial properties achieved by simply controlling its hierarchical superstructures by adjusting the pH values during feasible synthesis.