Fast-Acting and Skin-Compatible Antimicrobial Coating on Cotton Fabrics <i>via</i> <i>In Situ</i> Self-Assembly of Phosphine-Coordinated Copper Iodide Clusters

Cotton fabrics and textiles are ubiquitous in domestic, healthcare, and commercial settings, but they can harbor a multitude of disease-causing pathogens due to their lack of intrinsic antimicrobial properties. Here, we report a highly effective antiviral and antibacterial coating prepared in situ on commercial cotton fabrics by using phosphine-coordinated copper iodide clusters as the sole precursor. Self-assembled hexagonal nanodisks of [Cu4I4(TPP)4] (TPP = triphenylphosphine) clusters formed a hydrophilic coating at only 0.36 wt % relative to the cotton substrate, but capable of eliminating >99.9% of murine hepatitis coronaviruses (SARS-CoV surrogate) and clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within 2 min. Direct surface contact was experimentally verified as the mechanism of action, whereby the coating induced the disruption of the bacterial cell membrane. More notably, the coating also exhibited other excellent properties, including colorless appearance, high durability to various post-treatments, excellent skin compatibility, and ease of industrial scale-up, making it a promising technology to prevent the spread of nosocomial infections and enhance our preparedness against global outbreaks of infectious diseases in the future.