N-Doped Carbon-Coated Cu₇S₄ Nanowires on Cu Foam Supports for Water Disinfection

Water safety is closely related to human health, and an efficient and low-cost water disinfection method is far-reaching for all kinds of water supplies. However, how to achieve high-flow water disinfection materials with simple operation is still an open question for practical application. Herein, we first designed and prepared hierarchical Cu7S4 nanowires covered by a N-doped carbon film (Cu7S4@NCNWs) on Cu foam with a simplified solvothermal method and carbonization process. Although without doped nanometal particles, the Cu7S4@NCNW materials still exhibited better conductivity and long-term stability, which comes from the increased interfacial electron transfer rate based on the analyses of Nyquist plots and PL spectra. For the improved filter equipped with Cu7S4@NCNWs, the sterilization rate against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus could maintain over 99% within 12 h working under a large flow of 1500 mL min–1 and a lower voltage of 10 V, in which efficiency is the best among the previous reports. The designed materials possessing a long-term stable high-flow water disinfection efficiency with a simple method will have a great potential in future practical application.