ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

UV light-induced photocatalytic, antimicrobial, and antibiofilm performance of anodic TiO₂ nanotube layers prepared on titanium mesh and Ti sputtered on silicon

Martin Motola, Ewa Dworniczek, Leonid Satrapinskyy, Grzegorz Chodaczek, Jakub Grzesiak, Maroš Gregor, Tomáš Plecenik, Joanna Nowicka, and Gustav Plesch

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia

E-mail: martinmotola@gmail.com

Abstract: The potential use of TiO₂ nanotube layers as a self-sterilizing and self-cleaning material for environmental application is presented. Antimicrobial, antibiofilm and photocatalytic performance of anodic TiO₂ nanotube layers under UV irradiation was investigated on titanium mesh and on Ti sputtered on silicon substrates. The nanotubes were prepared in fluoride containing ethylene glycol-based electrolyte to obtain ~ 4 µm thick nanotube layers, which were subsequently annealed at 450 °C. Structural and morphological properties of prepared TiO₂ layers were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. In addition, their surface wettability, before and after UV irradiation, was investigated. Their photoactivity was compared to TiO₂ sol–gel films of similar thickness. The highest efficiency in photocatalytic degradation of organic dye and removal of free-floating bacteria of Gram-positive Staphylococcus epidermidis was observed for TiO₂ nanotube layers on titanium mesh. The highest antibiofilm performance in impairments of biofilms was reached using the TiO₂ nanotubes on silicon. The obtained results on silicon substrate are promising for the development of medical devices covered by TiO₂ nanotubes that would decrease the risk of infection. On the other hand, the mesh substrate covered by TiO₂ nanotubes could find environmental applications such as filters in flowing photocatalytic reactors.

Keywords: TiO₂ ; Nanotubes ; Photocatalytic ; Antimicrobial ; Antibiofilm 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-018-0667-4

Chemical Papers 73 (5) 1163–1172 (2019)