The photoactivity of titanium dioxide coatings with silver nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel and reactive magnetron sputtering methods – comparative studies

Titanium dioxide coatings were deposited on silicon substrates using two different methods: sol–gel dip-coating (SG) and reactive magnetron sputtering (MS). In order to obtain anatase phase, as-prepared coatings were calcined at 500 °C in air. Subsequently, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were grown on the surface of TiO2 coatings by photoreduction of silver ions, initiated by illumination of the UV lamp operated at λ = 365 nm. The concentrations of silver ions were 0.1 mmol dm−3 and 1.0 mmol dm−3. Coatings immersed in these solutions were illuminated during 5 min and 30 min. The coating thicknesses, evaluated by ellipsometry, were 118 nm and 147 nm for SG and MS methods, respectively. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging revealed that the surface roughness of TiO2 coating prepared by MS is about 6 times larger as compared to coatings prepared by SG method. The size of AgNPs deposited on SG and MS coatings were in the range of 17–132 nm and 54–103 nm respectively. The photoactivity of AgNPs/TiO2 coatings was determined by the measurement of the decomposition rate of bisphenol A (BPA). The concentration of BPA before and after illumination under UV light (λ = 365 nm) was monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was found that AgNPs enhance the photoactivity of the TiO2 coatings.