Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-doped TiO2) for visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

TiO2 is an effective and well-known photocatalyst for water and air purification, but its practical applications in visible light-assisted chemical reactions are hindered mainly by its poor visible light absorption capacity. Nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-doped TiO2) has attracted considerable attention as a photocatalyst, and rapid progress has been made in enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 under visible light irradiation. N-doped TiO2 exhibits broad absorption in the visible region, which can allow the utilization of a large part of the solar spectrum. This might be useful for environmental and energy applications, such as the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, solar cells, sensors, and water splitting reactions. This review focuses on the major developments in the synthesis of N-doped TiO2 and its possible applications in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and environmental remediation under visible light irradiation.