Bactericidal and photocatalytic activity of Fe3+-TiO2 thin films prepared by the sol-gel method

Pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films on glass substrate were prepared by sol-gel method, and characterized by X-ray diff-ractometer (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TG-DSC), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy, respectively. The experimental results show that the pure TiO2 thin films and iron doped TiO2 thin films can destroy most of the escherichia coli and bacillus subtillis under the irradiation of 365 tun UV-light. However, the iron doped TiO2 thin film is a better photocatalyst than pure TiO2 thin film. The ultrastructural studies provide direct evidences for understanding the bactericidal mechanism of the TiO2 photocatalyst.