Bactericidal effects of reactive thermal plasma synthesized titanium dioxide photocatalysts

Nanocrystalline titanium oxide powder has been synthesized by reactive plasmaprocessing. The precursor powder of TiH2 was oxidized ‘in-flight’ in a thermal plasma reactorto effect complete conversion of TiH2 to nano-sized TiO2 powder. Characterization of thepowder by various analytical tools indicated that the powder consisted of nano-sized titaniumdioxide particles consisting predominantly of the anatase phase. Bactericidal action ofilluminated TiO2 on pure culture of Escherichia coli was studied. The plasma synthesized TiO2nano powder catalyst was found to be highly effective for the killing of Escherichia coli. Theefficiency of photocatalytic disinfection, used to inactivate Escherischia coli as function oftime is discussed.