Visible-Light-Induced Bactericidal Activity of Vanadium-Pentoxide (V2O5)-Loaded TiO2 Nanoparticles

The bactericidal activity of TiO₂ nanoparticles under visible light is very important in regards to its practical applications. In this paper, we synthesized vanadium-pentoxide-loaded TiO₂ nanoparticles (V₂O₅?CTiO₂) using a chemical vapor condensation method, followed by the impregnation method, and characterized its physicochemical properties through X-ray diffraction patterning, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, Raman spectra analysis, and Fourier transform infrared analysis. In addition, the antibacterial activity of V₂O₅?CTiO₂ nanoparticles against E. coli was evaluated and compared with pure TiO₂ nanoparticles. In these experiments, the population of E. coli was shown to be significantly reduced by V₂O₅?CTiO₂ nanoparticles under illumination with fluorescent light, whereas pure TiO₂ nanoparticles showed about 3.3-fold lower antibacterial activity than the V₂O₅?CTiO₂ nanoparticles. This result was most likely due to the change in surface conditions of the TiO₂ nanoparticles, which was due to the loading of vanadium pentoxide on the TiO₂ nanoparticles. Furthermore, both photocatalysts showed similar antibacterial activity under UV-A (352?nm) irradiation.