Fe3O4@Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resin/Cu2O Composite Microstructures: Solution-Phase Construction, Magnetic Performance, and Applications in Antibacterial and Catalytic Fields.

Multifunctional Fe3O4@resorcinol-formaldehyde resin/Cu2O composite microstructures (denoted as Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures) were successfully constructed via a simple wet chemical route that has not been reported so far in the literature. The as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The investigations showed that the as-obtained microstructures presented not only excellent antibacterial activity to Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria) but also highly efficient catalytic ability for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in a solution with excess NaBH4. Owing to the presence of Fe3O4, the antibacterial reagent and the catalyst could be readily collected from the mixed systems under the assistance of an external magnetic field. It was found that the as-obtained microstructures displayed good cycling stability in antibacterial and catalytic applications. Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures still retained more than 87% of the antibacterial efficiency after 5 cycles and 89% of the catalytic efficiency after 10 cycles.

Introduction

Antibacterial agents have been widely used in many fields including water disinfection, textile industry, medicine, food packaging, and so on.[1−4] At present, organic antibacterial agents are the main commodity on the market.[5−8] However, organic antibacterial agents come with many shortcomings, such as low heat resistance, volatility, environmental pollution, poor security, and short-lived duration.[9−11] To conquer the above shortcomings, therefore, inorganic antibacterial agents with improved properties were developed. Currently, several nanoscaled inorganic matters, including TiO2, ZnO, Cu2O, and silver, have shown a strong antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria.[12−17] Among them, Cu2O, a typical p-type semiconductor with a direct band of 2.17 eV, shows a great promise for biomedical applications because of its unique potential to combine the intrinsic antibacterial effects with multiple other functionalities.[18−24] For example, Lu et al. investigated the antibacterial activities of Cu2O with different shapes and found that all Cu2O crystals with various shapes presented good bacteriostatic activities.[25] Even after Cu2O was coated with different surfactants, it still exhibited eminent antifungal activity for yeast.[26] Furthermore, Cu2O also presents outstanding catalytic activity for the photodegradation of organic pollutants and the synthesis of organic compounds.[27,28]

Usually, it is necessary to separate antibacterial agents or catalysts from a heterogeneous system. On the one hand, the recovered antibacterial agents or catalysts can be reused to enhance the efficiency and to reduce the cost. On the other hand, recovering antibacterial agents or catalysts can avoid secondary pollution.[29,30] Although traditional separation strategies such as centrifugation, free settling, and filtration have been widely adopted, they suffer from loss of antibacterial agents and catalyst, complicated operating equipment, and high operational costs.[31,32] Therefore, a benign, effective, and inexpensive separation method is extremely desirable. Compared with the above separation methods, magnetic separation shows superior separation effect and draws increasing attention because of its low cost and ease of use. An antibacterial agent or catalyst carried by magnetic substances has good magnetic response to the additional magnetic field, which can achieve the goal of fast and efficient separation.[33−35]

Iron oxide nanoparticles, such as magnetite (Fe3O4), are very interesting materials for biomedical applications because of their high biocompatibility, peculiar magnetic property, low preparation cost, high thermal and mechanical stabilities, and adaptability for large-scale production.[36−39] In the current work, we attempted to construct Cu2O nanoparticle-strewn Fe3O4@resorcinol–formaldehyde resin microstructures (denoted as Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures) through simple wet chemical routes. First, Fe3O4@RF microstructures were obtained by the polymerization of RF on the surfaces of Fe3O4 microspheres. Then, the Fe3O4@RF microstructures were modified with the silane coupling agent KH550 (3-amino propyl triethoxy silane). Finally, Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures were prepared through the reduction of Cu2+ in the system containing Fe3O4@RF. It was found that the saturation magnetization (Ms) of Fe3O4 microspheres decreased with the formation of Fe3O4@RF and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures. Experiments showed that the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures exhibited strong antibacterial ability to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) and highly efficient catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in excess NaBH4 solution. Compared with the existing microstructures, the microstructure prepared in our study presented better catalytic activity. Furthermore, due to the existence of magnetic Fe3O4 cores, the present antibacterial reagent and the catalyst can be easily recycled under the extra magnetic field, which can efficiently reduce the cost in practical applications.

Results and Discussion

Morphology and Structure Characterization

The morphologies of pure Fe3O4, Fe3O4@RF, and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technologies. Figure depicts representative FESEM images of three samples. Pure Fe3O4 prepared by the solvothermal technology is composed of uniform microspheres with an average diameter of ∼180 nm (see Figure a). These microspheres were made of an abundance of small nanoparticles, which resulted in unsmooth surfaces of microspheres (see the inset in 1a). After RF was formed on monodisperse Fe3O4 microspheres, the product still presented spherical microstructures, but the surfaces of microspheres became smooth (see Figure b and its inset). Simultaneously, the sizes of microspheres increased to ∼250 nm. Figure c shows an FESEM image of the final Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. An abundance of nanoparticles of size 5–15 nm are distributed on the surfaces of spherical microstructures, implying that Cu2O nanoparticles have been successfully decorated on the Fe3O4@RF microspheres. Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that RF and KH550 play crucial roles in the formation of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. Without either RF or KH550, Cu2O nanoparticles cannot be decorated on the surfaces of Fe3O4 microspheres.

Figure 1

FESEM images of Fe3O4 microspheres (a), Fe3O4@RF microspheres (b), and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microspheres (c).

TEM observations confirmed the results of SEM. As shown in Figure a, pure Fe3O4 microspheres are made of an abundance of small nanoparticles ∼15 nm in size, which results in the roughness of the microsphere surfaces. After pure Fe3O4 microspheres have been coated with RF, clear core–shell structures with smooth surfaces can be easily observed (see Figure b). The typical TEM image of the final product is exhibited in Figure c. An abundance of small nanoparticles with a mean size of ∼10 nm are strewn on the surfaces of Fe3O4@RF microspheres. Selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern shown in the inset in 2c proves the good crystallinity of the final product. Bright spots are ascribed to the face-centered cubic (fcc) Fe3O4, and a weak spot near the (400) plane of fcc Fe3O4 is attributed to the (111) plane of cubic Cu2O. Figure d depicts a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image of the final product. Several spherical nanoparticles are distributed on the surface of the amorphous RF layer. The clear matrix stripes imply good crystallinity of nanoparticles. The distance between neighboring planes is measured to be ∼0.212 nm, which is very close to 0.21335 nm of the distance between the neighboring (200) planes of cubic Cu2O. The above facts confirm that Cu2O nanoparticles have indeed been successfully decorated on Fe3O4@RF microspheres.

Figure 2

TEM images of Fe3O4 (a), Fe3O4@RF (b), and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O (c) and (d) HRTEM image of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. The inset in (c) is the SAED pattern of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O.

The formation of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O is also confirmed using XRD and EDS analyses of the final product. Figure a compares the XRD patterns of the samples before and after strewing Cu2O nanoparticles on the surfaces of Fe3O4@RF. Owing to the amorphous nature of RF, only the diffraction peaks of fcc Fe3O4 are detected before loading Cu2O nanoparticles [see the lower pattern in Figure a, the lower line pattern is the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) card no. 75-0449 of fcc Fe3O4. After strewing Cu2O nanoparticles, the peaks belonging to Fe3O4 can be still found, but an obvious new peak centered at 36.4° can be readily distinguished (see the upper pattern in Figure a). By comparison with the data of the JCPDS card files no. 78-2076, this new diffraction peak is indexed as the (111) plane of cubic Cu2O. The other Cu2O peaks centered at 42.3°, 61.3°, and 73.5° should overlap with the ones of Fe3O4 at the corresponding situations. Nevertheless, the above facts prove that the final product contains Fe3O4 and Cu2O. Figure b shows the EDS result of the final product. O, Fe, and Cu peaks are clearly visible. Simultaneously, the strong C peak comes from organic compounds such as RF and KH550, and the weak Si peak is attributed to the silane coupling agent. Markedly, the EDS analysis further confirms the successful preparation of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. Moreover, according to the calculation result of the EDS peak areas, ∼11.9 wt % of Cu2O is loaded on the surfaces of Fe3O4@RF microspheres.

Figure 3

(a) X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of Fe3O4@RF and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O and (b) X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O.

It was found that the coating of RF and the subsequent loading of Cu2O nanoparticles could obviously change the magnetism of Fe3O4 microspheres. Figure shows the room-temperature hysteresis loops of Fe3O4 microspheres, Fe3O4@RF, and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. Their corresponding Ms values are, in turn, 48.5, 21.7, and 14.4 emu g–1. The Ms value of Fe3O4 decreases with the integration of RF and Cu2O, in turn. Although the magnetism of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O markedly decreases against pure Fe3O4, it can still be quickly separated from a solution by an external magnetic field, which is favorable for its collection and reuse.

Figure 4

Room temperature hysteresis loops of Fe3O4 microspheres, Fe3O4@RF, and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O.

Antibacterial Activity

Our previous work had proven that Cu2O owned excellent antimicrobial activities.[14] To investigate the antibacterial activity of the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O, in the present work, S. aureus (a Gram-positive bacterium) and E. coli (a Gram-negative bacterium) are selected as the representative bacteria. Inhibition of the bacterial growth is monitored by the optical density (OD) of the system. Figure shows the growth curves of ∼107 cfu/mL of E. coli or S. aureus in liquid media with different concentrations of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures. When no antibacterial agent in the system, the bacteria rapidly breed and reach the maximum peak after 16 h for E. coli or 14 h for S. aureus. After the antibacterial agent is introduced, the reproduction of the bacteria is restrained, and the reproduction ability of the bacteria is negatively correlated to the concentration of the antibacterial agent. When increasing the concentration of the antibacterial agent to 64 μg mL–1, the reproduction of E. coli is almost inhibited (see Figure a). Whereas the growth of S. aureus is completely inhibited, the concentration of the antibacterial agent reaches 128 μg mL–1 (see Figure b). The above experiments indicate that the as-prepared Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures possess excellent antibacterial properties against both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria and that the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent against the Gram-negative bacteria E. coli is better than that against the Gram-positive bacteria S. aureus. To ascertain the role of Fe3O4@RF in the antibacterial process, furthermore, we compared the changes in the OD values of S. aureus and E. coli solutions in the presence of 256 μg mL–1 Fe3O4@RF and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O, respectively. As shown in Figure c, in the presence of Fe3O4@RF, the OD values of S. aureus and E. coli solutions present trends similar to those of the control experiments, implying that the propagation of bacteria cannot be restrained by Fe3O4@RF. After Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures are added, however, the OD values of the two bacterial solutions hardly change within 24 h, indicating that the propagation of the bacteria is strongly restrained. The above facts confirm that the antibacterial function of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O still comes from Cu2O nanoparticles.

Figure 5

Reproduction curves of bacteria: (a) E. coli and (b) S. aureus in the presence of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures at various concentrations. (c) Changes in OD values of S. aureus (red lines) and E. coli (black lines) with the incubation duration in the presence of various antibacterial agents at a concentration of 256 μg mL–1.

Figure a depicts the correlations between the bacteriostatic effect and the concentration of the antibacterial agent. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) against E. coli and S. aureus was 35.8 ± 3.7 and 49.5 ± 2.7 μg mL–1, respectively. Obviously, the present antibacterial agent has a lower IC50 value against E. coli than against S. aureus, which is in good agreement with the result shown in Figure . Furthermore, owing to the magnetic influence of the as-prepared Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures, the present antibacterial agent can be easily separated from a system with the assistance of extra magnetic fields. This provides the possibility of reusing the antibacterial agent. Figure b exhibits the inhibition efficiency of the antibacterial agent to E. coli under different cycling times. After five cycles, the inhibition efficiency of the antibacterial agent still remains at 87%. Obviously, this is important for practical applications for cost savings.

Figure 6

(a) Correlations between the bacteriostatic effect and the concentration of the antibacterial agent and (b) inhibition rate of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O against the growth of E. coli at different cycling times.

Catalytic Ability for the Reduction of 4-NP

It was also found that the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures also presented excellent catalytic activity for the reduction of some small organic molecules such as 4-NP in excess NaBH4 solution. Generally, 4-NP and NaBH4 can form an intermediate, which has an absorption peak at 400 nm, and can stably exist for several days when no catalyst is added. After a catalyst is introduced, 4-NP can be rapidly reduced by NaBH4 to produce 4-aminophenol (4-AP), which causes the absorption peak at 400 nm to disappear and a new peak at ∼309 nm to appear. Figure a exhibits the ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra of the system that consisted of 4-NP, NaBH4, and 6 mg L–1 Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O after reacting for various durations. With the increase in the reaction time, the intensity of the peak at 400 nm markedly decreases, and a new absorption peak at ∼309 nm appears. After 4 min, the peak at 400 nm almost disappears, which indicates that the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures possess an excellent catalytic ability for the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP in excess NaBH4 solution. To investigate the influence of the amount of catalyst on the reaction rate, 2, 4, and 8 mg L–1 Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O were used as the catalyst. As shown in Figure b, the above reduction reaction can be markedly promoted by the amount of catalyst. However, when 8 mg L–1 catalyst was used, the catalytic curve almost overlapped with that obtained in the presence of 6 mg L–1 catalyst, implying that the optimum catalyst concentration was 6 mg L–1 in the current work. Figure c compares the curves of the concentration change in 4-NP versus time in the presence of Fe3O4@RF and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O. When 6 mg L–1 Fe3O4@RF was selected as the catalyst, the reduction reaction did not take place. This fact indicates that the reduction reaction of 4-NP to 4-AP is catalyzed only by Cu2O. The kinetic constant of this pseudo-first-order reaction (k) is 0.75 min–1 (see the inset in 7c). Compared with some previous reports, the present catalyst displays better catalytic activity (see Table ). Furthermore, the presence of magnetic Fe3O4 cores is favorable for the collection and reuse of the present catalyst. As shown in Figure d, after 10 cycles, the catalytic activity of the present catalyst still remains to be 89%. Obviously, this is important for practical applications.

Figure 7

(a) UV–vis absorption spectra of the system containing 4-NP, NaBH4, and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures for various durations; (b) concentration changes of 4-NP with the reaction time in the presence of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O catalyst of various amounts; and (c) curves of the 4-NP concentration vs time in the presence of 6 mg L–1 catalysts. (d) Catalytic efficiency of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O catalyst after recycling 10 times.

Table 1

Comparison of the Catalytic Capacities of Various Catalysts Reported in the Literature for the Reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP in NaBH4

catalyst and its amount	kinetic rate constant (k) (min–1)	ratio constant (K) (min–1 mg–1)	reference
hierarchical copper/3 mg	0.27933	0.093	(40)
CuO nanorods/1.0 mg	0.027	0.027	(41)
leaf-like CuO/0.03 mg	2.13	71	(42)
dumbbell-like CuO/0.03 mg	0.2862	9.54	(42)
Cu2O–MWCNTs/0.02 mg	0.5772	28.86	(43)
Cu2O–Cu–CuO/0.5 mg	0.621	1.242	(44)
Fe3O4–@SiO2–Ag/0.02 mg	0.33	16.5	(45)
Fe3O4–@C@Ag/0.01 mg	0.2232	22.32	(46)
Fe3O4–@C@Ag–Au/0.01 mg	0.948	94.8	(46)
Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O/0.018 mga	0.75	41.7	this work

The calculated amount of catalyst: 3 mL of the 6 mg L–1 CuO solution was used in experiments.

Experimental Section

Materials

FeCl3·6H2O, trisodium citrate dehydrate, ethylene glycol, urea, resorcinol, ammonia, formaldehyde, silane coupling agent KH550, maleic anhydride, CuCl2 NaOH, NH2OH·HCl, glucose, K2HPO4, KH2PO4, NaCl, NH4Cl, MgSO4·7H2O, and CaCl2 were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. Lactose was purchased from Shanghai Macklin Biochemical Co., Ltd. All chemicals were analytically pure and used without further purification. Deionized water was used in all synthesis procedures.

Characterization

The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the products were recorded on a Bruker D8 ADVANCE X-ray diffractometer equipped with Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.154060 nm), at a scanning rate of 0.2° s–1 and 2θ ranging from 10° to 80°. SEM images were obtained on Hitachi S-4800 field emission scanning electron microscope, operated at 5 kV. TEM/HRTEM images and SAED pattern of the samples were obtained from a JEOL-2011 transmission electron microscope working at an accelerating voltage of 200 kV. The room temperature hysteresis loops of the products were measured using a superconducting quantum interference device operating at room temperature (300 K) with an applied field up to 1.0 T. UV–vis absorption spectra were recorded using a Metash 6100 UV–vis absorption spectrophotometer (Shanghai). The OD of bacteria was measured using UV-2000 spectrophotometer.

Synthesis of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O

Synthesis of Fe3O4@RF Microstructures

To obtain Fe3O4@RF microstructures, Fe3O4 microspheres assembled with an abundance of nanoparticles were prepared in advance using a solvothermal method as previously reported.[13c] In a typical experiment, 1.0 g of FeCl3·6H2O and 0.3 g of trisodium citrate dihydrate were first dissolved in 30 mL of ethylene glycol under vigorous stirring. Then, 2.0 g of urea was added into the above solution under stirring. After continuously stirring for another 30 min, the as-obtained mixture was sealed in a Teflon-lined stainless-steel autoclave of 40 mL capacity and heated at 200 °C for 10 h. Subsequently, the system was naturally cooled to room temperature. The black product was separated magnetically, washed with deionized water and ethanol several times, and finally dried under vacuum at 60 °C for 24 h.

Fe3O4 (0.1 g) microspheres prepared from the above process were placed into a 250 mL three-necked flask with 30 mL of ethanol and 70 mL of pure water. Next, 0.1 g of resorcinol and 0.5 mL of ammonia were added. After the as-obtained mixed system was ultrasonically treated for 30 min, the system was heated to 35 °C. Herein, 0.14 mL of 37 wt % formaldehyde solution was poured into the above system under vigorous mechanical stirring. After continuously stirring for 6 h, the precipitate was collected using a magnet, washed with distilled water and ethanol several times, and dried under vacuum at 60 °C overnight.

Synthesis of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O Microstructures

To successfully prepare Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures, the surfaces of Fe3O4@RF microstructures must be modified by the silane coupling agent KH550 in advance. Typically, 50 mg of the Fe3O4@RF microstructure was first placed into a 150 mL three-necked flask with 50 mL of absolute ethanol. After the as-obtained system was ultrasonically dispersed for 30 min, a mechanical stirring was adopted. Under continuous stirring, 300 μL of KH550 was quickly introduced. The as-obtained mixed system was stirred at room temperature for 24 h. The precipitate was purified under the assistance of magnetic separation, washed with ethanol several times, and dried under vacuum at 60 °C for 24 h.

Subsequently, KH550-modified Fe3O4@RF microstructures were dispersed in 20 mL of dimethylformamide (DMF) and dropped into a flask containing 20 mL of DMF with 0.1 M maleic anhydride. The mixture was mechanically stirred for 24 h at room temperature. The precipitate was collected using a magnet, washed with DMF several times, and dried in vacuum at 60 °C for 24 h. Carboxylic-functional Fe3O4@RF microstructures (Fe3O4@RF–COOH) were obtained. The modification process of Fe3O4 microspheres is illustrated in Scheme .

Scheme 1

Surface Modification Process of Fe3O4 Microspheres

Under the ultrasonication, 50 mg of the Fe3O4@RF–COOH sample was dispersed into 40 mL of deionized water. After 30 min, 1 mL of 0.1 M CuCl2 solution was added. After continuous ultrasonication for another 10 min, 10 mL of 1 M NaOH was poured. Subsequently, 1 mL of 0.2 M NH2OH·HCl solution was poured. The above mixed system was left for 2 h to allow the formation of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O magnetic microstructures. Finally, the precipitate was collected using a magnet, washed with distilled water and ethanol several times, and dried in vacuum at 60 °C overnight.

For the antimicrobial activity test, we prepared the cultivation medium containing 0.2% (w/v) glucose, 0.4% (w/v) lactose, 0.05% (w/v) K2HPO4, 0.05% (w/v) KH2PO4, 0.1% (w/v) NaCl, 0.2% (w/v) NH4Cl, 0.002 M MgSO4·7H2O, and 1.0 × 10–4 M CaCl2. The pH of the medium was 7.4.

Measurements of Antibacterial Properties of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O Microstructures

Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli were selected as model organisms. The OD at 600 nm (OD600) of organisms was measured to reflect the variation in the amount of organisms. Before culturing bacteria, the culture medium was first sterilized by autoclaving at 121 °C for 20 min. The two bacteria were separately inoculated in liquid media at 37 °C for 24 h until an approximate OD600 of 0.8 was reached (here, the colony-forming units were ∼2 × 108 cfu mL–1). After diluting the above suspension to 1 × 107 cfu mL–1, various amounts of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O were introduced. The concentration of the antibacterial agent in the system was, in turn, 0, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 μg mL–1. The system was placed in an orbital shaker at the rotating speed of 180 rpm. After the bacteria were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h, the OD value of the system at different durations was measured.

IC50 Test

To obtain the IC50 value, the antibacterial agent at the concentrations of 2048, 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, and 4 μg mL–1 was separately prepared through the half times dilution method. Then, 1200 μL of the antibacterial agent at each of the concentrations was transferred into a sterile test tube. After 200 μL of bacterial liquid with 2 × 108 cfu mL–1 and 1000 μL of culture solution were added, the concentration of the antibacterial agent respectively became 1024, 512, 256, 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, and 2 μg mL–1. Furthermore, a control solution that consisted of 200 μL of the bacterial liquid with 2 × 108 cfu mL–1 and 2200 μL of culture solution was also prepared. All of the systems were cultured at 37 °C for 24 h. Their OD600 values were measured for the calculation of the IC50 value.

Catalytic Activity for the Reduction of 4-NP

To investigate the catalytic property of the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures in the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP in excess NaBH4 solution, a series of solutions were freshly prepared before experiment. In a typical process, appropriate amounts of 4-NP and catalysts were first mixed; then, a certain volume of NaBH4 solution was introduced into the system to form 3 mL of the solution. Here, the concentrations of 4-NP, NaBH4, and the catalyst were 1.0 × 10–4 mol L–1, 2.0 × 10–2 mol L–1, and 2/4/6/8 mg L–1, respectively. The reduction processes were monitored using a Metash 6100 UV–vis spectrophotometer.

Conclusions

In summary, Cu2O nanoparticles-strewn Fe3O4@RF core–shell microstructures have been successfully constructed by the reduction of Cu2+ ions on the surfaces of Fe3O4@RF microstructures modified with the silane coupling agent KH550. Magnetic property studies showed that the Ms values of pure Fe3O4, Fe3O4@RF, and Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O were 48.5, 21.7, and 14.4 emu g–1, respectively, indicating that the Ms of pure Fe3O4 decreased with the integration of RF and Cu2O in turn. Experiments showed that the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures presented multifunctional applications in bio-antibacterial and organic catalysis fields. The reproductions of E. coli (Gram-negative bacteria) and S. aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) could be efficiently inhibited under the presence of appropriate amounts of Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures. The IC50 values against E. coli and S. aureus were 35.8 ± 3.7 and 49.5 ± 2.7 μg mL–1, respectively, implying that the present antibacterial agent has stronger inhibition against E. coli than against S. aureus. Simultaneously, the as-obtained Fe3O4@RF/Cu2O microstructures also displayed outstanding catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-NP in excess NaBH4 solution. Under the presence of 6 mg L–1 catalyst, 1.0 × 10–4 mol L–1 4-NP could be completely reduced within 4 min. Furthermore, because of its magnetic property, the present antibacterial agent and the catalyst could also be conveniently recovered for reuse. After five cycles, the antibacterial efficiency and the catalytic efficiency were still remaining at 87 and 90%, respectively. This is obviously favorable to cost savings in practical applications.