Synthesis of Ag modified vanadium oxide nanotubes and their antibacterial properties

Vanadium oxide nanotubes (VO{sub x}-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/VO{sub x}-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 AgNO{sub 3} solution. Typically, Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed on the VO{sub x}-NTs with the size range from 3 to 10 nm. The corresponding antibacterial tests demonstrated the as-synthesized Ag/VO{sub x}-NTs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli)