Long Afterglow Brightens Bacterial Disinfection Upon Darkness: Challenges and Opportunities

Bacterial contamination is a thorny issue for public health protection in the 21st century, which causes a huge threat to human life and economic development. Photocatalytic disinfection has been verified as a promising technique to address the issue owing to its inexpensive, green, and sustainable process. Nevertheless, continuous external light illumination is indispensable for the photocatalytic disinfection reaction, which becomes an Achilles’ Heel for the practical application of this technique. Long afterglow luminescent material with a unique “light storage” effect can effectively support photocatalytic disinfection reaction under conditions of no light or even darkness, brightening the prospect of continuous bacteria inactivation. Herein, we critically envisage the perspective of bacterial disinfection by long afterglow luminescent material, and outlook the ongoing challenge and study direction of the material fabrication, mechanistic exploration, and disinfection applications in this frontier field.