Abstract: TiO2 photocatalyst is one of the technologies to effectively use solar energy to solve the existing environmental pollution problems. A new titanium dioxide photocatalyst was prepared by using butyl titanate as titanium source， anhydrous ethanol as solvent，glacial acetic acid as inhibitor. The optimal value of the variable was determined by single factor method, and TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by optimized hydrolysis method through orthogonal experiment. The degradation rate of Rhodamine B solution was used as the standard for characterization of catalytic activity, and the catalytic activity was compared with that of TiO2 prepared by sol-gel method under optimal conditions in literature. The experimental results showed that the performance of prepared photocatalyst was influenced by the volume ratio of alcohol to titanium and the calcining time in the process of hydrolysis. The catalyst samples obtained by calcination for 4 hours at 600 ℃ were the best under a water to butyltitanate volume ratio of 12:1 and an ethanol to butyltitanate volume ratio of 6:1, and the degradation rate of Rhodanine B solution reached 96.4% after full illumination.

Key words: Photocatalysis, hydrolysis method, Rhodanine B, degradation rate