Nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (N-doped TiO2) for visible light photocatalysis

Abstract

Energy level diagrams for undoped and N-doped TiO ₂ for visible light induced photocatalytic application.

TiO ₂ is an effective and well-known photocatalyst for water and air purification, but its practical applications in visible light-assisted chemical reactions are hindered mainly by its poor visible light absorption capacity. Nitrogen-doped TiO ₂ (N-doped TiO ₂) has attracted considerable attention as a photocatalyst, and rapid progress has been made in enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO ₂ under visible light irradiation. N-doped TiO ₂ exhibits broad absorption in the visible region, which can allow the utilization of a large part of the solar spectrum. This might be useful for environmental and energy applications, such as the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, solar cells, sensors, and water splitting reactions. This review focuses on the major developments in the synthesis of N-doped TiO ₂ and its possible applications in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and environmental remediation under visible light irradiation.