Black TiO 2 : An Emerging Photocatalyst and Its Applications

TiO2-based photocatalysis is one of the excellent prospects in the field of energy and environmental research. It has wide range of applications in the pollutant removal as well as the water splitting. However, the efficiency is still short of the large-scale applications due to the limiting factors such as low visible sensitivity as well as high recombination. Several modifications such as doping, sensitization, and noble metal modification are employed to address the drawbacks of TiO2. In the process of addressing these demerits, the black titania has attracted huge attraction in the recent years due to its ability to have higher light absorption, decreased recombination. In this chapter, we explain various physical, chemical, and electrochemical procedures to synthesis the black TiO2. The important features of black titania, namely, the structural disorders, oxygen vacancies, as well as the band modifications, are discussed in detail. Accordingly, the application of black TiO2 as a photocatalyst in environmental remediation and clean energy generation are summarized.