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Download fileA Multifunctional Biocide/Sporocide and Photocatalyst Based on Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Codoped with Silver, Carbon, and Sulfur
journal contribution
posted on 2010-02-16, 00:00 authored by Dambar B. Hamal, Johanna A. Haggstrom, George L. Marchin, Myles A. Ikenberry, Keith Hohn, Kenneth J. KlabundeComposite nanostructured samples of Ag (0.5−20%)/(C, S)-TiO2 were synthesized and characterized by EDX, XRD, FT-IR, UV−vis, BET, XPS, and zeta potential measurements. Photocatalytic and biocidal tests revealed that the amount of the codoped silver (Ag+) in (C, S)-TiO2 played a crucial, distinctive role in the photodegradation of gas-phase acetaldehyde as well as in the inactivation of Escherichia coli cells and Bacillus subtilis spores. Very interestingly, Ag/(C, S)-TiO2 nanoparticles (crystallite size <10 nm) have shown very strong antimicrobial properties without light activation against both E. coli (log kill >8) and B. subtilis spores (log kill >5) for 30 min exposures, compared with P25-TiO2. Thus, for the first time, we have demonstrated that titanium dioxide (an environmentally friendly photocatalyst) codoped with silver, carbon, and sulfur can serve as a multifunctional generic biocide as well as a visible light activated photocatalyst.