A robust superhydrophobic antibacterial Ag-TiO2 composite film immobilized on wood substrate for photodegradation of phenol under visible-light illumination

Ag-TiO2 heterostructures with Ag nanocrystals and TiO2 particles well-grown on wood substrate was achieved by a two-step protocol combining hydrothermal synthesis and silver mirror reaction. The investigation of the photocatalytic ability demonstrated that the wood coated with Ag TiO2 composite film possess excellent photocatalytic activity, superior to the wood coated with pure TiO2 particles, for the degradation of phenol under visible-light illumination. The Ag/TiO2-coated wood was further modified by (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetradecyl)trimethoxysilane, which acted as a crucial role in improving the repellency toward water and imparting self-cleaning property to the wood products. The modified wood has potent antibacterial activity toward both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterium. The multifunctional film coated on wood surface exhibits a good photodegradation of organic pollutant and a robust superhydrophobicity, leading to an important application in self-cleaning. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.