Synthesis of Ag modified vanadium oxide nanotubes and their antibacterial properties

Vanadium oxide nanotubes (VOx-NTs) modified by highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles have been synthesized via a facile silver-mirror reaction. The crucial factors that affected the preparation of the Ag modified vanadium oxide nanotubes (Ag/VOx-NTs) have been also studied. The dispersion and structure of Ag nanoparticles in the obtained materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed the distribution and size of the formed Ag particles were greatly influenced by the concentration of AgNO3 solution. Typically, Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed on the VOx-NTs with the size range from 3 to 10 nm. The corresponding antibacterial tests demonstrated the as-synthesized Ag/VOx-NTs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli).