Grain growth, phase transition and optical properties of modified TiO2

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) also known as titania, is studied since the beginning of material research. It is important due to its multifunctional properties such as tunable bandgap (anatase ~ 3.2 eV and rutile ~ 3.0 eV) [1] and high photo-corrosion stability. Different crystal structures and corresponding electronic band structure facilitates its applications in different fields, such as, optoelectronic devices [2, 3], self-cleaning glass coating materials [4, 5], photocatalyst [6, 7], fuel cell [8], dye-sensitized solar cell [9, 10], sensor [11, 12], opacifier and white pigment [13, 14], etc.. It facilitates environmentally beneficial reactions through photocatalytic activity by splitting of water to produce hydrogen, curing polluted air/water. Low cost, nontoxicity, and high chemical stability add a special importance for its application in different fields.