Surface Segregation in Ag/TiO_x 3D Nanocomposite Prepared by Physical Vapor Deposition

The antimicrobial activities of silver based nanocomposites are usually studied in terms of Ag content and ion release rate. Under this condition, controllable silver ions release with high antibacterial activity is the basis for silver based nanocomposite. The goal is to investigate the influence of O₂ content and titanium oxide barrier thickness on the evolution in morphology. The SEM/TEM results showed that the size of Ag nanoparticles has a clear dependence on O₂ concentration in reactive sputtering process; increased oxygen implies larger Ag nanoparticles in the matrix. In addition, a clear suppressing effect and better size distribution is obtained after the thickness of coated titanium oxide barrier is verified. (paper)