Features of Forming Zinc Titanate by Electrical Explosion Dispersion of Titanium and Zinc Wires in an Oxygen-Containing Atmosphere

In the present work, we have synthesized for the first time zinc titanate nanoparticles by electrical explosion of titanium and zinc wires in an oxygen-containing atmosphere (argon–oxygen 20 vol.%). As-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The particles have spherical shapes and an average particle size of 82 nm. The phase composition is presented by zinc titanate and a small amount of titanium oxide, which corresponds to the phase diagram of the TiO 2 –ZnO system. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles studied in the decomposition reaction of model dye methylene blue was higher than that of titanium oxide nanoparticles obtained by electrical explosion of a titanium wire in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. In addition, the synthesized nanoparticles demonstrated high antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) bacteria.