Increasing Solar Absorption for Photocatalysis with Black Hydrogenated Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals

Abstract

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.

Cite this paper

Related papers

1. Organometal Halide Perovskites as Visible-Light Sensitizers for Photovoltaic Cells2009
2. Environmental Applications of Semiconductor Photocatalysis1995
3. Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides2001
4. Titanium Dioxide Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties, Modifications, and Applications2007
5. Heterogeneous photocatalyst materials for water splitting2008