Comparison of the tribological and antimicrobial properties of CrN/Ag, ZrN/Ag, TiN/Ag, and TiN/Cu nanocomposite coatings

ZrNO–Ag co-sputtered surfaces leading to E. coli inactivation under actinic light: Evidence for the oligodynamic effect

“…Due to the higher O 2 reactivity, the addition of O 2 to a sputtered nitride film induces a different microstructure for the metal-bonds in the matrix of the covalent metal-nitrogen bond [14,15]. The effect of O 2 concentration is reflected in the color of the nitride samples sputtered during this study.…”

“…Our laboratory has reported the antibacterial properties and kinetics of Ag-and Cu-modified textiles deposited by DC-magnetron, pulsed DC-magnetron and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS). Kelly has reported TiN and other nitrides co-sputtered with Ag able to inactivate Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in the dark [14,15].…”

“…Magnetron sputtering has been used to deposit thin metal/oxide films (or combinations thereof) inducing self-cleaning and antibacterial properties in natural fibers like cotton and artificial textiles like polyester [14,15,28,29,37]. The present study addresses: (a) the sputtering of ZrNO and ZrNO-Ag films on polyester optimizing the sputtering chamber gas atmosphere to attain the fastest E. coli bacterial inactivation kinetics, (b) the performance of ZrNO-Ag films obtained either by sputtering sequentially Ag after Zr or by co-sputtering of both components, (c) the bacterial inactivation kinetics by ZrNO and ZrNO-Ag films under low intensity actinic light and finally (d) the characterization of the microstructure of ZrNO and ZrNO-Ag films by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle (CA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).…”

Coupling of narrow and wide band-gap semiconductors on uniform films active in bacterial disinfection under low intensity visible light: Implications of the interfacial charge transfer (IFCT)

“…Our laboratory has recently reported oxy-nitrides films [13] and nitrides [14] films inactivating bacteria under visible light irradiation. Ag has been reported not to be miscible with TaN in nanocomposite films [15,16]. When using Ag-loaded textiles, silver leaching takes place and is an undesired environmental problem.…”

Photocatalysis/catalysis by innovative TiN and TiN-Ag surfaces inactivate bacteria under visible light

“…The high melting point, adhesion and diffusion barrier for metal ions in interconnectors has been reported [3]. Kelly has recently reported TiN and other nitrides co-sputtered with Ag as antimicrobial surfaces inactivating Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in the dark [4]. Ag and Cu have also been sputtered on TiN rig metals in Ar-N 2 atmosphere [5].…”