High-performance Antibacterial Film Via Synergistic Effect Between Uniformly Dispersed TiO2 Nanoparticles and Multifunctional Quaternary Ammonium Cationic Ligand

Due to the extraordinary photocatalytic effect, TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have been widely applied in antibacterial fields. However, the agglomeration problem and dependence on light of TiO2 NPs seriously limit their antibacterial activity and practical applications. This study proposed an ingenious, facile and effective strategy for the preparation of polyacrylate/TiO2 nanocomposite antibacterial films by emulsion polymerization. In this work, a quaternary ammonium cationic ligand Vinylbenzyldimethyldodecylammonium chloride (VDAC) was successfully synthesized, which acted as a trinity of cationic ligand, organic antibacterial agent and polymerizable emulsifier to improve the dispersion of TiO2 NPs by electrostatic interaction and play the synergistic antibacterial effect with TiO2 NPs. The results demonstrated that TiO2 NPs were truly uniformly dispersed in the matrix and the particles sizes were reduced to around 5 nm. Moreover, the systematic investigations of antibacterial performance indicated that the prepared nanocomposite films displayed excellent antibacterial and antibiofouling abilities through the synergistic antibacterial effect of TiO2 NPs and VDAC. The films could maintain close to 100 % antibacterial rate and completely inhibit bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation in 7 days, exhibiting long-term and stable antibacterial performance. The nanocomposite films in this work exhibit a great potential to be applied to antibacterial coatings and other fields requiring high antibacterial properties.