A Review - The Properties and Applications of Nano-Structured Titanium Oxide Materials

Abstract

Because of the unique optical properties, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as a white pigment over several decades. The numerous and diverse applications of TiO2 can be found in many common products such as paints, plastics, paper, sunscreens, etc. In the past decades, the emergence of nanotechnology and the discovery of some of the key application potentials of TiO2 have spurred the enormous interests to study TiO2, particularly, nano-structured TiO2, as the functional materials. Since then, substantial advances have been made in the fabrication, characterization, fundamental understanding of TiO2 nano-materials, and their promising applications in a number of areas such as energy and environment. This review will discuss the properties of nano-structured TiO2 and highlight the recent development of their applications.