Sm 3+-doped TiO 2 thin films with different doping modes and Sm contents were prepared by the sol-gel dip-coating technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectroscopy and electrochemical experiment. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO 2 thin films was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. XRD results showed that both pure TiO 2 and Sm 3+-doped TiO 2 thin films were of anatase type and oriented predominantly to the (101) plane, and no crystallographic planes ...