TiO2Nanomaterials for Enhanced Photocatalysis

This chapter discusses Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) fabrication and its photocatalytic application. The review examines the basic principles of photocatalytic H 2 production, degradation of pollutants, CO 2 reduction, and N 2 reduction using TiO 2 photocatalysts under ultraviolet light conditions. The focus includes synthesis and modification of TiO 2 nanophotocatalysts for improved photocatalytic applications. The synthesis methods examined contains the sol–gel, sol, hydrothermal, solvothermal, vapor deposition, electrochemical, direct oxidation, surfactant controlled, and the plasma-assisted process. The photocatalytic activities of pure TiO 2 suffer from limitations such as the fast charge carrier recombination and its wide bandgap of approximately 3.2 eV. Improving the photocatalytic activities of TiO 2 has been the focus of many reports. Modifications of TiO 2 consist of changing the crystal structure and morphology, doping with metal and nonmetal chemicals, incorporating carbon materials (carbon nanotubes and graphene), and noncarbon materials (i.e., metals, semiconductors, dyes, and noncarbonaceous two-dimensional materials). Lastly, future prospects are discussed for the application of TiO 2 .