Ag-enriched TiO₂ nanocoating apposite for self-sanitizing/ self-sterilizing/ self-disinfecting of glass surfaces

The excellent strategy to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is to inhibit the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. Since fomites are one of the vital routes of coronaviral transmission, disinfecting of fomites play a pivotal role in curbing its survival on the contaminated surfaces. Available commercial disinfectants cannot keep the contaminated surfaces sanitized all the time. Self-disinfecting ability of Ag-enriched TiO₂ nanocoating due to its superb photocatalytic efficiency can effectively reduce infections caused by spread of pathogens at public places. Anatase Ag-TiO₂ nanocoatings synthesized by sol-gel process at 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5% enriching concentrations were casted on glass substrates by spin-coating technique and subsequently annealed at 650 °C. The morphological shape, crystallographic structure, light absorbance, photo-luminosity, vibrational modes, and functional groups of Ag-TiO₂ nanocoating on glass surface were studied by FE-SEM, GIXRD, UV-Visible, Photoluminescence, Raman, and FTIR spectroscopy. The developed anatase Ag-TiO₂ nanocoatings manifested to improve photocatalytic disinfecting performance due to the achieved small crystallite size of 10.5-19.2 nm, diminished band gap energy of 2.56-2.60 eV, elevated surface area of 0.802-1.470 ×10⁵ cm²/g, and enhanced light absorbance. Among the enriched specimens, 0.5% Ag-TiO₂ nanocoatings predicted an overall exalted functionality compared to pristine one.