Superhydrophilic Polystyrene Nanofiber Materials Generating O₂(¹Δ_g): Postprocessing Surface Modifications toward Efficient Antibacterial Effect

The surfaces of electrospun polystyrene (PS) nanofiber materials with encapsulated 1% w/w 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) photosensitizer were modified through sulfonation, radio frequency (RF) oxygen plasma treatment, and polydopamine coating. The nanofiber materials exhibited efficient photogeneration of singlet oxygen. The postprocessing modifications strongly increased the wettability of the pristine hydrophobic PS nanofibers without causing damage to the nanofibers, leakage of the photosensitizer, or any substantial change in the oxygen permeability of the inner bulk of the polymer nanofiber. The increase in the surface wettability yielded a significant increase in the photo-oxidation of external polar substrates and in the antibacterial activity of the nanofibers in aqueous surroundings. The results reveal the crucial role played by surface hydrophilicity/wettability in achieving the efficient photo-oxidation of a chemical substrate/biological target at the surface of a material generating O2((1)Δg) with a short diffusion length.