Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Properties of TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Loaded with Ag Nanoparticals

Abstract:

TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNA) were fabricated by anodization of Ti in fluoride containing electrolytes. Then Ag-TiO2 nanotube arrays (Ag-TNA) were prepared by loading silver nanoparticles into TiO2 nanotube via photochemical reduction of AgNO3 solution with different Ag contents. The as-prepared samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The result shows Ag-TNA have the best efficiency of photocatalytic degradation with methyl blue (MB) as probing molecule in aqueous solution and good anti-bacterial properties.