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 DH5α, 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.