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

•We produced rhodium-modified and Ti3+ self-doped TiO2 nanocomposite via the one-pot method.•Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 nanocomposite possesses good visible light and near-infrared light absorption properties.•The illumination of visible light and near-infrared light exhibited a higher mortality rate on S. aureus. In this study, we synthesized a series of rhodium-modified and Ti3+ self-doped TiO2 (Rh/Ti3+-TiO2) nanocomposites via the one-pot method. The result products 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 TiO2 to absorb near-infrared and visible light was significantly improved by the Rh/Ti3+-TiO2 nanocomposites, due to Ti3+ 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 TiO2.