LAUSR

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) particles were deposited on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by magnetron sputtering of Ti at varying O 2 /Ar flow rate ratio and at varying discharge current using a Compact Planar Magnetron (CPM) sputtering device. The deposited TiO 2 on PMMA samples were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The samples were tested for their photoinduced hydrophilicity, and antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E.coli) . XPS, FTIR and EDX analyses confirmed the presence of TiO 2 on the surface of PMMA. XPS spectra revealed the presence of Ti 2p and O 1 s bands on the surface of the samples and the EDX spectra showed that the elemental ratio of Ti and O ranged from 26 to 30% and 69 to 73%, respectively. SEM showed that the deposited TiO 2 was relatively smooth with micro islands of titanium at the surface. Photoinduced hydrophilicity was observed for all samples after 10 min of UV irradiation; this was seen from the reduction of the water contact angles on the UV irradiated samples from 66° to as low as 2 -deposited PMMA samples exhibited antibacterial efficiency of 70% to 80%.