Antibacterial properties of silver-doped TiO2 nanoparticles under solar simulated light

Ag-doped tio2 nanoparticles were synthesized by combination of two bottom-up and top-down methods and the products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (xrd), brunauer emmett teller (bet), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (xps) and ultra violet-visible absorption spectroscopy (uv-vis). the visible light antibacterial activities were successfully demonstrated for the inactivation of escherichia coli (e-coli) bacteria. the results revealed that the ag/tio2 nanoparticles extended the light absorption spectrum toward the visible region and significantly enhanced the inactivation of e-coli bacteria under visible light irradiation. 0.15 g ag/tio2 nanoparticles exhibited highest antibacterial activity. the significant enhancement in the antibacterial properties of ag/tio2 nanoparticles under visible light irradiation can be ascribed to the effect of doped noble metal ag by acting as electron traps in tio2 band gap.