A Hierarchical Metal–Organic Framework Intensifying ROS Catalytic Activity and Bacterial Entrapment for Engineering Self-Antimicrobial Mask

Abstract

Leveraging functional materials to develop advanced personal protective equipment is of significant importance for cutting off the propagation of infectious diseases, yet faces ongoing challenges owing to the unsatisfied antimicrobial efficiency. Herein a hierarchically porous cerium metal–organic framework (Ce-MOF) boosting the antimicrobial performance by intensifying catalytic reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and bacterial entrapment simultaneously is reported. This Ce-MOF presents dendritic surface topography and hierarchical pore channels where the Lewis acid Ce sites are dispersedly anchored. Attributing to this sophisticated nanoarchitecture rendering the catalytic Ce sites highly accessible, it shows a ca. 1800-fold activity enhancement for the catalytic conversion of atmospheric oxygen to highly toxic ROS compared to traditional CeO₂. Additionally, the dendritic and negative-charged surface engineered in this Ce-MOF substantially enhances the binding affinity toward positive-charged bacteria, enabling the spatial proximity between the bacteria and the short-lived ROS and therefore maximizing the utilization of highly toxic ROS to inactivate bacteria. It is demonstrated that this Ce-MOF-integrated face mask displays almost 100% antimicrobial efficacy even in insufficient light and dark scenarios. This work provides important insights into the design of antibacterial MOF materials by a pore- and surface-engineering strategy and sheds new light on the development of advanced self-antimicrobial devices.