The keys of success: TiO2 as a benchmark photocatalyst

Abstract

Titanium dioxide is a material with a huge technological relevance because of its numerous applications but, since the seminal work by Fujishima and Honda, this solid is attracting the interest of the scientific community mainly because of its capacity to be photoactivated. This property is not only exploited in heterogeneous photocatalysis or in self-cleaning coatings, but it can also be applied directly to the production of electrical energy in dye-sensitized solar cells. Accordingly, despite the continuous quest for more efficient photoactive materialsTiO2 remains as the benchmark photocatalyst. This chapter explores the physicochemicals basis of the remarkable properties of this material.