At present, inorganic antimicrobial nano agents are
widely used in various fields[1,2]. Antibacterial agents are
represented by either Ag or Ti series. However, the silver
antibacterial agents have a broad antibacterial spectrum[
3–5] and a high sterilization rate, and it is not easy for
the microbes to develop resistance. However, these materials
are expensive and unstable[6,7]. The effect of
Ti-series antibacterial agents is limited by light conditions
and the electron-hole pairs[8]; Dolgov et al.[9]
proposed composite based on TiO2 host doped with Sm3+
ions and co-doped with silver nanoparticles was proposed
as a new fluorescent material. Combined plasmonic
and sensitizing influences of silver on the Sm3+
ions were considered as reasons for enhanced Sm3+ fluorescence.
However, rare-earth elements with 4f electron
configurations are able to produce more unique electronic
and nuclear structures, which can extend the life of
the light-born electron hole. These rare-earth elements
are less expensive, have higher color stability, and are
less toxic than Ag+. In addition, these elements provide
excellent antibacterial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory,
anti-cancer, and anti-tumor biological capabilities[10–13].
An inorganic nanomaterials Sm/Ag/TiO2 is synthesized
using supercritical fluid drying (SCFD) combined
with sol-gel technology. The main objective of this experiment
is to study the characterization, photocatalytic
and antibacterial activities of the inorganic nanomaterials
Sm/Ag/TiO2.