A novel photochemical technique for preparing silver doped titanium dioxide powder and coating for bactericidal applications
With the onset of multi-drug resistance in many bacterial strains, new bacteria-killing methodologies are increasingly being sought. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles, in particular, have received much interest because of their powerful anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, even at low concentrations. Another recent development in this area is titanium dioxide (TiO2) powder and thin film coatings which have a photo-sterilisation effect upon UV excitation. This project seeks to enhance the bacterial killing effect of visible light active TiO2 by depositing ultrafine silver nanoparticles onto its surface using a novel low energy technique. The careful coupling of a metal (silver) and a carrier oxide (TiO2) created using this technique, with the pertinent combination of visible light activity, is expected to give rise to improved bactericidal activity.
