Enhanced properties of TiO₂ nanotubes through α-Fe₂O₃ surface decoration: Synthesis, characterization, and performance evaluation

Abstract

Electrochemical anodization, under a constant voltage of 45 V and for 15, 30, and 45 min, was performed to fabricate highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes. Depending on the processing paramters, the diameter of the TiO2 nanotubes was found to be around 95 +/- 6 nm, while the thickness of TNT layer exhibited a change with anodizing time, varying from 1 to 4 mu m. Subsequent to the anodization alpha-Fe2O3/TiO2 heterogeneous structure was created by the spin coating of iron precursor based solutions on TiO2 nanotubes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were utilized to ascertain the phase structure and morphology of TiO2 nanotubes. The change of optical band gap values depending on the processing parameters was calculated using UV-Vis spectrophotometer data. The photocatalytic performances of the samples, namely the degradation rates and kinetics, were evaluated by examining the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB). The (TC15) sample, obtained by anodizing for 15 min and decorated with alpha-Fe2O3, exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, with a degradation efficiency of 70 % at the end of 7 h of light exposure. On the other hand, the inhibition percentages of bacterial growth were examined and it was seen that the TC30 sample with the highest value was 88.89 % for E.coli bacteria and 70.57 % for S.aureus. To assess the mechanism of antimicrobial activity, ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) Analysis were perfomed on T30 and TC30 groups and the ROS amount of TC30 was higher than T30. According to the results of the L929 mouse fibroblast cytotoxicity experiment with indirect contact according to ISO 10993-5 standards, all samples showed a successful performance in terms of cell viability. The cell viability of TC15 was higher in comparison to the control group.