Silver nanoparticles synthesized on titanium dioxide fine particles

Silver nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (20 nm mean size) were synthesized over the surface of two different commercial TiO2 particles using a simple aqueous reduction method. The reducing agent used was NaBH4; different molar ratios TiO2:Ag were also used. The nanocomposites thus prepared were characterized using TEM, STEM, SEM, EDS, XPS, XRD, DLS and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy; the antibacterial activity was assessed using the standard microdilution method, determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) according to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. From the microscopy studies (TEM and STEM) we observed that silver nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed over the surface of TiO2 particles and TiO2:Ag molar ratios play an important role. The size of silver nanoparticles was controlled in the range of 10 - 30 nm. It was found that the antibacterial activity of the nanocomposites increases considerably comparing with separated silver nanoparticles and TiO2 particles.

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