Comparative study of antibacterial efficiency of M-TiO2 (M = Ag, Cu) thin films grown by CVD

Francis Maury (1) , Jitti Mungkalasiri (1, 2) , Laurent Bedel (2) , Fabrice Emieux (2) , Jeanne Dore , Francois Renaud

1 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
2 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives

M-TiO2 (M = Ag, Cu) nanocomposite layers were grown by pulsed direct liquid injection chemical vapor deposition (DLICVD) on various substrates to produce bactericidal surfaces with long term activity. Monodisperse Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 5-10 nm are embedded in an anatase matrix. A bactericidal behavior determined by the JIS Z 2801 standard test was found for Ag-TiO2 films for Ag ≤ 1 at. % and above. Higher Ag content is not necessary since efficiency is already at its maximum (relative activity 100%). By contrast, using Cu as antibacterial agent, a larger size distribution of metal particles was found (20 to 400 nm). Cu-TiO2 films exhibit a bactericidal behavior if their thickness is higher than 100 nm and Cu content ≥ 3.5 at. %. These coatings are still antibacterial after 5 months of aging and their efficiency has decreased by only 35%.

Mots clés: Nanocomposite coatings; Metal nanoparticles; Antibacterial activity; Bactericidal surfaces; TiO2; DLICVD

Domaines: Matériaux

Francis Maury, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Laurent Bedel, Fabrice Emieux, Jeanne Dore, et al.. Comparative study of antibacterial efficiency of M-TiO2 (M = Ag, Cu) thin films grown by CVD. Key Engineering Materials, 2014, vol. 617, pp. 127-130. ⟨10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.617.127⟩. ⟨hal-01172521⟩