Titanium dioxide-based semiconductors for solar-driven environmentally friendly applications: impact of point defects on performance

Abstract

The demand for energy is rising. At the same time there is a need to increase the use of renewable energy sources in order to reduce climate change. Awareness is growing that solar energy, which is available in abundance in many countries, should be used for the production of environmentally friendly fuel and electricity. The use of solar energy is determined by availability of new materials that are able to efficiently convert solar-energy into other types of energy. It becomes increasingly clear that oxide semiconductors are the most promising candidates for solar energy conversion. These semiconductors can be used for a wide range of environmentally friendly applications, including the production of solar–hydrogen fuel and solar-driven water purification. The present work describes the concept of the use of metal oxides for the processing of high-performance photosensitive oxide semiconductors. The aim of such processing is to impose the functional properties, which are required for specific applications. The present work brings together the concepts of solid-state chemistry and the concepts of photoelectrochemistry in order to outline the research strategy of TiO₂-based photosensitive oxide semiconductors.