Bismuth-doped ordered mesoporous TiO2: visible-light catalyst for simultaneous degradation of phenol and chromium

A controllable and reproducible synthesis of highly ordered two-dimensional hexagonal mesoporous, crystalline bismuth-doped TiO(2) nanocomposites with variable Bi ratios is reported here. Analyses by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal that the well-ordered mesostructure is doped with Bi, which exists as Bi(3+) and Bi((3+x+)). The Bi-doped mesoporous TiO(2) (ms-TiO(2)) samples exhibit improved photocatalytic activities for simultaneous phenol oxidation and chromium reduction in aqueous suspension under visible and UV light over the pure ms-TiO(2), P-25, and conventional Bi-doped titania. The high catalytic activity is due to both the unique structural characteristics and the Bi doping. This new material extends the spectral response from UV to the visible region, and reduces electron-hole recombination, which renders the 2.0% Bi-doped ms-TiO(2) photocatalyst highly responsive to visible light.