Synthesis and characterization of pure and Fe doped TiO2 thin films for antimicrobial activity

Pure and Fe-doped titanium dioxide sol-gel thin films were prepared by spin coating process. Pure and Fe-TiO2 films, containing 3-6% Fe, were annealed at 450 °C for 1 h. All thin films were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-vis spectroscopy. From XRD data, the dominant crystalline phase of titanium dioxide was anatase, and the range of the crystal size for the films was 19-26 nm. On the other hand, antibacterial activity of pure and Fe-doped titanium dioxide against E. coli and S. aureus was evaluated by international recognized test (JIS Z 2801). The test shows incrementally increasing in antibacterial activity of the thin films when dopant ratio increased under UV light.