Synthesis and Characterization of Ag-TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanocomposites for Possible Use as Biocide

Currently nanoparticles are being widely used because they have large surface area and pronounced effect relative to the properties of the material. Silver and Titanium Dioxide nanoparticles, for example, have pronounced biocidal effects, since they can inactivate certain enzymes and alter the DNA synthesis of some microorganisms. It is expected that a composite of the nanoparticles of the two metals can further increase the biocide power. This way, the study of the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites becomes highly relevant. The aim of this work was to synthesize Ag-TiO2 nanocomposites and to characterize them in order to contribute to the understanding of the preparation of nanocomposite materials. In this study, we used a sol-gel method, which makes use of a reduction reaction using sodium citrate as the reducing agent, and titanium butoxide, acetic acid and silver nitrate as starting material. After being synthesized, the nanocomposite was analyzed with the techniques of Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM / EDS) and X-ray Diffraction.