Facile synthesis of Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 nanocomposites and its photodisinfection properties on Staphylococcus aureus under visible-NIR excitation

In this study, we synthesized a series of rhodium-modified and Ti 3+ self-doped TiO 2 (Rh/Ti 3+ -TiO 2 ) nanocomposites via the one-pot method. We prepared samples of Rh/Ti 3+ -TiO 2 , 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 TiO 2 to absorb near-infrared and visible light was significantly improved by the Rh/Ti 3+ -TiO 2 nanocomposites, due to Ti 3+ 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 TiO 2 . This was particularly true with respect to the 5% Rh/Ti 3+ -TiO 2 sample. Our results suggest that the Rh/Ti 3+ -TiO 2 composites could extend the range of optical response range of pure nano TiO 2 materials to the Vis -NIR region.