Modified TiO2 Nanomaterials as Photocatalysts for Environmental Applications

Since the water splitting breakthrough using semiconductor reported in 1972, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been extensively investigated as a promising material used in broad range of research areas. TiO2 is a transition metal oxide semiconductor with three distinct polymorph crystalline structures. With that alone TiO2 established remarkable performance as photocatalyst for organic photodegradation in the irradiation of UV. However, improvement on the light absorption properties that support the excellent photocatalytic activity still needs to be pursued for wider environmental application. In this book chapter, the limitations of TiO2 as photocatalyst were discussed especially in the industrial wastewater treatment application. The strategies in overcoming the limitation by TiO2 morphology and surface modification were also presented. The modified TiO2 nanomaterials proves to have excellent photocatalytic activity in dyes (Rhodamine B, Methyl Orange and Methylene Blue) as representative of organic pollutant degradation and Cu (II) reduction as representative of inorganic pollutant.