Two-Dimensional Antibacterial Materials: Development, Mechanisms, and Applications

Two-dimensional (2D) antibacterial materials have garnered significant and increasing research interest due to their exceptional physicochemical attributes, including an ultralarge specific surface area for enhanced interfacial contact, tunable electronic structures, and remarkable mechanical and optical properties. These unique features endow them with superior antibacterial performance, offering novel and potent strategies to combat the escalating global threats of bacterial contamination and multidrug-resistant infections. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements (covering studies up to 2025) in this rapidly evolving field. It systematically details the antibacterial activities and research of representative 2D material families, such as graphene oxide, transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g., MoS₂), MXenes, black phosphorus (BP), and emerging 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The primary antibacterial pathways, including physical damage, oxidative stress, photothermal/photodynamic therapy, and ion release, are elucidated. We further map their practical application landscapes across critical sectors: in healthcare for infected wound healing and antibacterial coatings on medical devices; in the food industry for active packaging and preservation; and in environmental remediation for water disinfection. To bridge the gap between promising laboratory results and real-world deployment, key challenges concerning scalable and reproducible synthesis, long-term biosafety profiles, and sustained antibacterial stability under practical conditions are critically discussed. Finally, we present forward-looking design considerations and future perspectives aimed at constructing safer, more efficient, and intelligent 2D antibacterial systems. This envisions the development of novel 2D materials, the acceleration of practical application conversion, and the deepening of interdisciplinary research integrating materials science, microbiology, and nanotechnology.