Antiviral nano-columnar Cu thin films inspired by cicada wings

A study conducted by Keisuke Shigetoh et al. was published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has a significant impact on human health and economic activities. Antiviral coatings that inactivate a broad spectrum of viruses are important to combat the emergence of mutated viruses. This study proposes nano-columnar Cu thin films inspired by cicada wings exhibiting mechano-bactericidal activity. Detailed study on the nanostructure and surface oxidation states of Cu films revealed that Cu films showed higher antiviral activity compared to their oxides. Furthermore, nanocolumnar Cu thin films showed high antiviral activity continuously for one month in the ambient air. We believe these findings on the structure and surface oxidation state of copper will not only develop copper into next-generation antiviral coatings but will also serve a new strategy for antiviral coatings using metals and their oxides.

An illustration from this study was selected as one of the covers of the journal covers.
https://pubs.acs.org/toc/aamick/15/16

Title: Durability and Surface Oxidation States of Antiviral Nano-columnar Copper Thin Films
Authors: Shigetoh, K., Hirao, R., Ishida, N.
Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published: March 22, 2023
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c01400