Facile synthesis of 3D flower-like Cu2-xSe nanostructures via a sacrificing template method and their excellent antibacterial activities

A three-dimensional (3D) flower-like Cu2-xSe film with a hexagonal nanosheet hierarchical structure has been synthesized for the first time from a 3D flower-like CuO film precursor through a facile sacrificing template method at room temperature. The product was characterized and its formation mechanism was explored using a series of control experiments combined with crystal structure analysis. The optical property and photodegradation activities of the Cu2-xSe film on three dye solutions were studied. Notably, its antibacterial activities were explored for the first time. The results show that the 3D flower-like Cu2-xSe is assembled from numerous hexagonal nanosheets with thicknesses of about 50 nm. The flower-like Cu2-xSe displays excellent antibacterial activities against both Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). For the first time, the experimental results confirm that the antibacterial rate depends on the Cu(II) ion concentration which is closely related to the Cu2-xSe quantity and incubation time.