Facile synthesis of Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 nanocomposites and its photodisinfection properties on Staphylococcus aureus under visible-NIR excitation
Abstract In this study, we synthesized a series of rhodium-modified and Ti3+ self-doped TiO2 (Rh/Ti3+-TiO2) nanocomposites via the one-pot method. We prepared samples of Rh/Ti3+-TiO2, which were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), and Uv-vis-NIR analysis. We found that the ability of TiO2 to absorb near-infrared and visible light was significantly improved by the Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 nanocomposites, due to Ti3+ doping as well as modification of Rh. The disinfection properties of these materials were tested using Staphylococcus aureus under visible light and NIR light excitations. The synthesized photocatalyst was found to exhibit significantly enhanced photocatalytic inactivation of S. aureus under both visible and NIR light irradiation, as compared to pure TiO2. This was particularly true with respect to the 5% Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 sample. Our results suggest that the Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 composites could extend the range of optical response range of pure nano TiO2 materials to the Vis -NIR region.