Unraveling the Intrinsic Biocidal Activity of the SiO-Ag Composite against SARS-CoV-2: A Joint Experimental and Theoretical Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented global healthcare emergency, demanding the urgent development of effective materials to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This research was planned to disclose the remarkable biocidal activity of SiO-Ag composites incorporated into low-density polyethylene. For this purpose, a joint experimental and theoretical [based on first-principles calculations at the density functional theory (DFT) level] study is performed.