Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, Modifications, and Applications

This critical review shows the basis of photocatalytic water splitting and experimental points, and surveys heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting into H2 and O2, and H2 or O2 evolution from an aqueous solution containing a sacrificial reagent Many oxides consisting of metal cations with d0 and d10 configurations, metal (oxy)sulfide and metal (oxy)nitride photocatalysts have been reported, especially during the latest decade The fruitful photocatalyst library gives important information on factors affecting photocatalytic performances and design of new materials Photocatalytic water splitting and H2 evolution using abundant compounds as electron donors are expected to contribute to construction of a clean and simple system for solar hydrogen production, and a solution of global energy and environmental issues in the future (361 references)

Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting

2.3. Evaluation of Photocatalytic Water Splitting 6507 2.3.1. Photocatalytic Activity 6507 2.3.2. Photocatalytic Stability 6507 3. UV-Active Photocatalysts for Water Splitting 6507 3.1. d0 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6507 3.1.1. Ti-, Zr-Based Oxides 6507 3.1.2. Nb-, Ta-Based Oxides 6514 3.1.3. W-, Mo-Based Oxides 6517 3.1.4. Other d0 Metal Oxides 6518 3.2. d10 Metal Oxide Photocatalyts 6518 3.3. f0 Metal Oxide Photocatalysts 6518 3.4. Nonoxide Photocatalysts 6518 4. Approaches to Modifying the Electronic Band Structure for Visible-Light Harvesting 6519

Semiconductor-based Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

TiO2 photocatalysis and related surface phenomena

When used as a photocatalyst, titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) absorbs only ultraviolet light, and several approaches, including the use of dopants such as nitrogen, have been taken to narrow the band gap of TiO(2). We demonstrated a conceptually different approach to enhancing solar absorption by introducing disorder in the surface layers of nanophase TiO(2) through hydrogenation. We showed that disorder-engineered TiO(2) nanocrystals exhibit substantial solar-driven photocatalytic activities, including the photo-oxidation of organic molecules in water and the production of hydrogen with the use of a sacrificial reagent.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/early/2011/01/19/science.1200448.full.pdf

Increasing Solar Absorption for Photocatalysis with Black Hydrogenated Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals

To use solar irradiation or interior lighting efficiently, we sought a photocatalyst with high reactivity under visible light. Films and powders of TiO 2- x N x have revealed an improvement over titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) under visible light (wavelength 2 has proven to be indispensable for band-gap narrowing and photocatalytic activity, as assessed by first-principles calculations and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy.

/pdf/visible-light-photocatalysis-in-nitrogen-doped-titanium-np6nklr9gh.pdf

Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides

Giant Magneto-Impedance (GMI) of films with a layered structure has been studied. They are Co-Si-B/Cu/Co-Si-B, Co-Si-B/Ag/Co-Si-B, and Fe-Co-Si-B/Cu/Fe-Co-Si-B with a magnetic closed-loop structure. They also have a certain magnetic configuration, for which the uniaxial anisotropy is perpendicular to both the driving current and the external field. Consequently, both reactance X and resistance R of the films change remarkably due to the external field in the frequency range from 100 kHz to 10 MHz, at which the GMI effect hardly appears in the single layer films of the same thickness. The conductivity difference between the outer and inner layers is important in order to achieve a high impedance change ratio in this frequency range. As a result, the ratios /spl Delta/Z/|Z/sub 0/|=(Z/sub maximum/-Z/sub [Hext=0]/)/Z/sub [Hext=0]/ of Co-Si-B/Ag/Co-Si-B films are 440% for a field of 9 Oe at 10 MHz, and the average sensitivity is 49%/Oe. Furthermore, /spl Delta/Z/|Z/sub 0/| of Co-Si-B/Cu/Co-Si-B and Co-Si-B/Ag/Co-Si-B films at 1 MHz is as much as 140%, and the average sensitivity reaches 15%/Oe. The sensitivity at 1 MHz is higher than that of single-layer magneto-impedance films of the same thickness by three orders of magnitude.

Giant magneto-impedance effect in layered thin films

N-doped TiO2 films were deposited on n+-GaN/Al2O3 substrates by reactive magnetron sputtering and subsequently crystallized by annealing at 550 °C in flowing N2 gas. The N-doping concentration was ∼8.8%, as determined from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Deep-level optical spectroscopy measurements revealed two characteristic deep levels located at 1.18 and 2.48 eV below the conduction band. The 1.18 eV level is probably attributable to the O vacancy state and can be active as an efficient generation-recombination center. Additionally, the 2.48 eV band is newly introduced by the N-doping and contributes to band-gap narrowing by mixing with the O 2p valence band.

Y. Taga

Papers

Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides

Giant magneto-impedance effect in layered thin films

Band-gap narrowing of TiO2 films induced by N-doping

Photokatalytisches material, photokatalytischer artikel und verfahren zu ihrer herstellung

Materiau photocatalytique, article photocatalytique et procede de preparation de ceux-ci