Bactericidal and photocatalytic activities of TiO2 thin films prepared by sol-gel and reverse micelle methods

The present study investigated bactericidal and photocatalytic activities of transparent anatase TiO2 thin films on soda-lime glass prepared by using reverse micelle and sol-gel methods. Both films exhibited significant bactericidal activity towards three strains of Escherichia coli, namely DH5alpha, JM109 and XL1 Blue MRF. The TiO2 films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-Vis spectrometry. Results of photocatalytic activity measurements suggest that the TiO2 film prepared by the reverse micelle method is a better photocatalyst than that prepared by sol-gel method in gaseous phase oxidation but their activities in aqueous phase are about the same. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.