Obtainment of bactericidal inkjet inks based on Ag-nanocomposites

Abstract

In this study, ceramic inks were formulated that are able to develop bactericidal properties and are appropriate for application by inkjet printing. These inks contain silver nanocomposites and are applied on to unfired glazed ceramic bodies, yielding single-fired tiles. Silver nanocomposites were obtained from different precursors, which were made to react in order to obtain more stable structures that, in addition to incorporating bactericidal components, were able to reduce their reactivity and dissolution in the glassy matrix during the ceramic tile firing stage, avoiding the ensuing loss of properties. The study also examined how the nature of the base glaze affected the reactivity of the resulting nanocomposites. The base glaze that enabled the bactericidal compounds to remain at the ceramic tile surface was selected as the optimum base glaze for the study.