TiO₂ Anatase with a Bandgap in the Visible Region

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2014 papers

Abstract

TiO2 anatase plays a central role in energy and environmental research. A major bottleneck toward developing artificial photosynthesis with TiO2 is that it only absorbs ultraviolet light, owing to its large bandgap of 3.2 eV. If one could reduce the bandgap of anatase to the visible region, TiO2-based photocatalysis could become a competitive clean energy source. Here, using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in conjunction with density functional theory calculations, we report the discovery of a highly reactive titanium-terminated anatase surface with a reduced bandgap of less than 2 eV, stretching into the red portion of the solar spectrum. By tuning the surface preparation conditions, we can reversibly switch between the standard anatase surface and the newly discovered low bandgap surface phase. The identification of a TiO2 anatase surface phase with a bandgap in the visible and high chemical reactivity has important implications for solar energy conversion, photocatalysis, and artificial photosynthesis.

Related Papers

• → Photocatalytic activation of TiO2 under visible light using Acid Red 44(2003)148 cited
• → A practical pathway for the preparation of Fe2O3 decorated TiO2 photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light photoactivity(2017)71 cited
• → Photocatalytic H2 evolution on a novel CaIn2S4 photocatalyst under visible light irradiation(2013)56 cited
• → Visible-light photocatalytic behavior of two different N-doped TiO2(2008)40 cited
• → TiO2 Nanoparticles Acid-assisted Synthesis and the Enhanced Visible-light Photocatalytic Activity(2023)