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In this study, Bi2Ti2O7−TiO2 was synthesized in a single step via the sol–gel method, after which its photocatalytic properties and mechanisms were investigated. Moreover, our study proposed and evaluated the use of salicylic acid (SA) and basic magenta (BM) as model contaminants in quenching experiments. When SA was used as the model pollutant, the reaction rates showed negative values. Therefore, the experimental results failed to truly and effectively reflect the actual photocatalytic performance of Bi2Ti2O7−TiO2. However, when BM was used as the model pollutant, the reaction rates were all positive and the experimental results were far more descriptive. Hydroxyl radicals (·OH), superoxide radicals (·O2−), and photogenerated holes (h+) all contribute to the photocatalytic activity of Bi2Ti2O7-TiO2, with ·OH making the largest contribution. Collectively, our findings can serve as a basis to improve the accuracy and efficiency of future photocatalytic mechanism experiments, which could bring great economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been partially shown that salicylic acid (SA) as an imprinting molecule can produce better photocatalytic effect, while the contribution of SA as a molecular imprinting and degradation substrate is not clear. Herein, SA-TiO2 was prepared by a one-step molecular imprinting method using SA as the imprinting molecule and tetra-n-butyl titanate as the precursor, which was analyzed by XRD, UV–Vis, SEM, TEM-EDS, XPS, PL, FT-IR, EIS, and photocurrent response. The results shown that 1.5SA-TiO2 had the best electrochemical properties and therefore the best photoelectric effect. Moreover, the decolorization rates of SA within 30 min were 49.25% and 62.69% for TiO2 and SA-TiO2, respectively, indicating that the synthesized SA-TiO2 had better photocatalytic performance and could be applied in future scenarios for the efficient degradation of SA wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]