Recyclable thermoplastic armed with copper nanoparticles as integrated sustainable materials for waste recycling and microbial control

Abstract The past several decades witnessed tremendous success in controlling global plastic pollution, but most of these achievements do not involve recycling the plastic waste. Herein, we propose a recycling strategy of using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wastes to remove copper ions (Cu 2+ ) from electroplating wastewater for microbial control during wound healing and food preservation. The PVC wastes were recovered and crosslinked by the assistance of diethylenetriamine (DETA), which offered multiple active sites to extract Cu 2+ ions from electroplating wastewater and in situ reduce to copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) containing crystalline Cu and Cu 2 O. The obtained composites (i.e., PVC‐DETA@CuNPs) performed excellent antibacterial efficacies (99.999%) against Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) by disrupting bacterial cell membranes through contact‐killing action and oxidative stress. After a series of biological evaluations on wound mice, PVC‐DETA@CuNPs exhibited promising potential in resisting wound bacterial infection, accelerating the healing process, and promoting epithelial regeneration. Interestingly, PVC‐DETA@CuNPs film was evidenced to delay the spoilage process of strawberries and extend their shelf life by combating with food‐borne pathogens. This study presents a recycling approach towards waste reuse and the development of innovative antibacterial materials for microbial control.