Morphology-dependent bactericidal activities of Ag/CeO2 catalysts against Escherichia coli

Silver-loaded CeO2 nanomaterials (Ag/CeO2) including Ag/CeO2 nanorods, nanocubes, nanoparticles were prepared with hydrothermal and impregnation methods. Catalytic inactivation of Escherichia coli with Ag/CeO2 catalysts through the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated. For comparison purposes, the bactericidal activities of CeO2 nanorods, nanocubes and nanoparticles were also studied. There was a 3–4 log order improvement in the inactivation of E. coli with Ag/CeO2 catalysts compared with CeO2 catalysts. Temperature-programmed reduction of H2 showed that Ag/CeO2 catalysts had higher catalytic oxidation ability than CeO2 catalysts, which was the reason for that Ag/CeO2 catalysts exhibited stronger bactericidal activities than CeO2 catalysts. Further, the bactericidal activities of CeO2 and Ag/CeO2 depend on their shapes. Results of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide spin-trapping measurements by electron spin resonance and addition of catalase as a scavenger indicated the formation of OH, O2−, and H2O2, which caused the obvious bactericidal activity of catalysts. The stronger chemical bond between Ag and CeO2 nanorods led to lower Ag+ elution concentrations. The toxicity of Ag+ eluted from the catalysts did not play an important role during the bactericidal process. Experimental results also indicated that Ag/CeO2 induced the production of intracellular ROS and disruption of the cell wall and cell membrane. A possible production mechanism of ROS and bactericidal mechanism of catalytic oxidation were proposed.