Study on the effect of TiO2 Crystal morphology on its antibacterial activity

Abstract

As an important inorganic functional material, nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted extensive attention due to its excellent physicochemical properties. This material not only exhibits characteristics such as non-toxicity, high chemical stability, and remarkable photoelectric conversion efficiency but also demonstrates outstanding photocatalytic performance. Based on these properties, TiO₂ nanomaterials show broad application prospects in environmental remediation and health protection, particularly in wastewater treatment, air purification, and microbial inhibition, where they hold significant value. In the field of antibacterial materials research, TiO2 photocatalytic antibacterial agents have become a research hotspot due to their unique advantages. These materials possess high catalytic activity, excellent thermal stability, long-lasting antibacterial effects, as well as low cost and safe usage. Currently, they are recognized as one of the most promising catalytic antibacterial agents. This study employs a hydrothermal synthesis method to prepare nano-TiO2 materials and systematically investigates the differences in antibacterial performance among various crystal structures. Using titanium sulfate as the precursor, a series of samples were prepared by controlling synthesis conditions. Multiple characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were utilized for comprehensive material analysis. The study focuses on exploring the structure-activity relationship between crystal structure characteristics and antibacterial performance. Additionally, comparative experiments under light and dark conditions were designed to evaluate the differences in antibacterial activity among different TiO2 crystal phases.