Preparation and Characterization of Bi3+‐TiO2 and its Photocatalytic Activity

Bi³⁺‐TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared by doping bismuth ion into the TiO₂ structure in a sol‐gel process. The catalyst samples were then characterized by UV‐vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Rodamine‐B (RhB) was used in this study as a model chemical with the aim of organic pollutants control. The photocatalytic degradation of RhB demonstrated that an optimal loading of bismuth 0.7 at. % achieved the highest photodegradation rate, with the rate constant increasing by a factor of 3.89 over neat TiO₂ (P25) under UV illumination (λ ≥ 320 nm). The degradation of p‐nitrobenzonic acid (pNBA) was also examined to prevent/preclude/exclude/ the photosensitization pathway. GC‐MS results show that pNBA can be effectively degraded and minerized to small molecules, such as quinone, acetic acid and formic acid.