Photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

The powders of TiO₂ and TiO₂ doped with Ag were prepared by sol-gel method. The prepared powders were calined at the temperature of 400°C for 2 h with the heating rate of 10°C/min. The microstructures of the fabricated powders were characterized by SEM, XRD and EDX techniques, and the results show that all samples were the agglomeration and reveal only the anatase phase. The photocatalytic activities of the powders were also tested via the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution under UV irradiation. Finally, antibacterial activity efficiency was evaluated by the inactivation of E.coli. It was observed that higher Ag concentration gives better photocatalytic and antibacterial activity. With the highest dopant concentration investigated in this experiment (TiO₂-5Ag condition) the powders show photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of 52.30 and 95.14%, respectively.