Antimicrobial Properties of Copper-Doped ZnO Coatings under Darkness and White Light Illumination

We report the first antimicrobial study of transparent and robust Cu-doped ZnO coatings that displayed potent antimicrobial activity that resulted in bacterial (Escherichia coli) reduction below detection limits within 6 h of illumination via a white light source that is found in hospital environments. The same bacterial reduction rate was observed even under darkness for 4.0 atom % Cu-doped ZnO films thus providing an efficient 24 h disinfection. All films were produced via a novel, inexpensive, and easily scalable route and were also thoroughly analyzed for their material properties.