Sol-Gel-Derived TiO and TiO/Cu Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antibacterial Efficacy.

This study reports on the antibacterial efficacy of both the TiO and TiO/Cu nanoparticles prepared through the sol-gel method. The materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The SEM and TEM showed the spherical morphology of the nanoparticles, while EDX and XPS confirmed the incorporation of Cu into the TiO nanoparticles. The XRD confirmed the formation of the tetragonal anatase phase of TiO/Cu while the FTIR revealed the functional groups linked to the doped TiO nanoparticles. The thermal stability of TiO/Cu was found to be lower than pure TiO. Moreover, TiO and the doped TiO nanoparticles were notably effective against (); however, the addition of Cu to TiO did not have any effect on the antibacterial activity probably due to the lower weight content in the composites. Interestingly, the antibacterial efficiency was determined to be 90 and 80% against and , respectively.