Abstract: This work addressed the antibacterial mechanism of copper ions dissolved from the Cu-bearing antibacterial stainless steel in the bacterial solution by electrochemical measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Experimental results showed that the antibacterial rate reached over 99.9% only when the reaction time between the antibacterial stainless steel and Escherichia coli (E. coli) lasted for 9 h, and the antibacterial stainless steel was more susceptible to the corrosion in the bacterial solution, which was attributed to more copper ions dissolved from surface of the steel contacted with the bacteria, a crucial reason leading to death of the bacteria.

Key words: Antibacterial stainless steel, Copper ions, Corrosion, Escherichia coli (E. coli)