Characterization and antibacterial functions of Ag–TiO2 and W–TiO2 nanostructured thin films prepared by sol-gel/laser-induced technique

A novel sol-gel/laser-induced technique (SGLIT) has been developed to form nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2) based thin films with an improved antibacterial performance. TiO2 precursor films loaded with W+6 and Ag+2 ions (W–TiO2, Ag–TiO2) were prepared separately by sol-gel method and spin-coated on microscopic glass slides. As-dried films were subjected to KrF excimer laser pulses at optimized parameters to generate mesoporous anatase and rutile phases at room temperature. The anatase phase was obtained after irradiation with 10 laser pulses only at 75–85 mJ/cm2 fluence in W–TiO2 films. However, higher number of laser pulses and higher W+6 content favored the formation of rutile. Whereas Ag–TiO2 films exhibited anatase up to 200 laser pulses at the same fluence. The films were characterized by using XRD, FEG-SEM, TEM and UV-Vis spectrophotometer to investigate the crystallographic structure, phase transformation, surface morphology, film thickness and the optical properties. A crystallite size of approximately 20 nm was achieved from the anatase prepared by SGLIT. The films exhibited an enhanced antibacterial function against E-Coli cells under the UV excitation.