(544et) Preparation of Ag-Doped TiO2 Sol with Peroxo-Sol-Gel Method and Its Application on Antibacteria and Antivirus

A series of multifunctional Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposites with various Ag contents were synthesized by the peroxo sol-gel method. The sol was used to coat on the glass to form a thin film. Antibacterial and antivirus (H1N1) activities of the Ag/TiO₂ were investigated. The as-prepared materials were characterized by Transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities of the samples were tested against Escherichia coli (OP50), a Gram negative organism. It was observed that the optimum Ag: TiO₂ weight ratio of 1:100 represented the highest photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution under both UV light and visible light irradiation; moreover, it remarkably exhibited over 99.99% extremely effective against E. coli and H1N1 virus after 1 h illumination time with UVA irradiation. The presence of Ag on TiO₂ significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity. It is believe that Ag was in incorporated into TiO2 lattice structure and uplifted the valence state of TiO2. Ag is known to be an effective bacterial killer even under dark condition.