Performance of Ag-Cu/TiO2 photocatalyst prepared by sol-gel method on the inactivation of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

•Metal doping induces a shift in the TiO2 absorption towards the visible region.•The sol-gel method allows the copper incorporation into TiO2 at atomic level.•Ag-Cu/TiO2 1.2-1.2 % showed high activity for bacterial inactivation.•Co-doped Ag-Cu/TiO2 exhibited antibacterial activity in absence of light.