Photo-induced antimicrobial and decontaminating agents: recent progresses in polymer and textile applications

In recent years, antimicrobial and decontaminating products and materials have drawn a lot of attention due to the outbreaks of infectious diseases in the public, as well as potential and unwanted exposure to certain hazardous chemicals in the living environment. Photo-chemistry has revealed that both inorganic photo-catalysts and organic photo-sensitizers could generate some reactive oxygen species (ROSs) on certain polymeric surfaces under light exposure and these ROS can provide antimicrobial and decontaminating functions. Thus, researchers have been trying to incorporate the photo-active agents into various polymeric substrates to prepare self-decontaminating materials for medical applications, protective clothing, etc. This paper will provide a review of the recent research progresses in the area of photo-induced functional materials, specifically antimicrobial functions and decontamination abilities of the materials.