Silver peroxide-incorporated carbon dots with high photothermal performance for combating bacteria

Abstract The widespread use of antibiotics often increases bacterial resistance. Herein, we reported a silver peroxide-incorporated carbon dots (defined as Ag₂O₂–CDs) with high photothermal conversion efficiency via in situ oxidation process. The prepared Ag₂O₂–CDs exhibited ultra-small size of 2.0 nm and hybrid phase structure. Meanwhile, the Ag₂O₂–CDs were of a similar optical performance comparing with traditional carbon dots (CDs). Importantly, the incorporation of Ag₂O₂ into CDs significantly enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency from 3.8% to 28.5%. By combining silver ion toxicity and photothermal ablation, the Ag₂O₂–CDs were capable of destroying gram-positive and gram-negative bacterium effectively. These findings demonstrated that the Ag₂O₂–CDs could be served as a potential antibacterial agent for clinical applications.