Formation of TiO-single crystals in Ag-TiO2 based nanocomposites by swift heavy ion irradiation

In present work, we report the synthesis of Ag-TiO
₂
nanocomposite thin films and their modification by swift heavy ions (SHI). Co-sputtering of silver together with titanium oxide (TiO
₂
) was used to produce Ag-TiO
₂
nanocomposite coatings, where Ag nanoparticles are embedded in TiO
₂
matrix. The Ag-TiO
₂
nanocomposite films (thickness ~35nm) with silver-volume-fraction between 10 and 40 % were prepared by co-sputtering of Ag and TiO
₂
using two different sources. Microstructural, optical and antibacterial properties of nanocomposite films were studied. Swift heavy ions were used to engineer different properties of nanocomposites.