Enhanced photocatalytic activity of (In–Sr–P) tridoped TiO₂/Bi₂O₃ composite loaded on mesoporous carbon: A facile sol-hydrothermal synthesis approach

Photocatalysis attracted attention as a promising technique for wastewater treatment, especially for water contaminated with organic pollutants such as dyes. However, designing a suitable photocatalyst with a simple procedure and high catalytic performance is still a big challenge for large-scale production. Here, indium-strantiom and phosphorous tridoped Bi₂O₃–TiO₂ composite loaded on mesoporous carbon (ISP–TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C) was prepared via the sol-hydrothermal method. The as-prepared ISP-TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C displayed a mesoporous structure with a BET surface area of 84.804 m² g⁻¹. The photocatalytic activity of the ISP-TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C composite was investigated toward the degradation of rhodamine B (RB) under exposure to UV, and sunlight. It was found that ISP-TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C photocatalyst exhibited superior photocatalytic activity against photodegradation of RB under UV light and sunlight irradiation with a degradation percentage of 99.12, and 95.71 %, respectively. In addition, ISP-TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C composite displayed a distinguished recycling ability after the fifth recovery cycle, indicating a promising candidate for photocatalytic applications under UV light and sunlight. Consequentially, the higher photocatalytic activity of ISP-TiO₂/Bi₂O₃@C under sunlight irradiation implies that the sol-hydrothermal method is promising for the preparation of efficient and low-cost TiO₂-based photocatalysts for the photodegradation of various environmental pollutants.