Black TiO<sub>2</sub>: What are exact functions of disorder layer
Sungsoon Kim, Yoonjun Cho, Ryan Rhee, Jong Hyeok Park
Abstract
Abstract Among the substantial amount of photocatalyst materials, TiO 2 has been enthusiastically studied for a few decades due to its outstanding photocatalytic activity and stability. Recently, black TiO 2 consisting of approximately 2 nm of thin disorder layer around the surface showed surprisingly high solar hydrogen generation ability. The disorder layer of TiO 2 can enhance its light absorption, charge separation, and surface reaction abilities, however exact fundamentals of photocatalytic water‐splitting pathways are still ambiguous. Herein, recent progress and investigations on exact functions of disorder layer and its application in photocatalytic CO 2 reduction will be discussed. Throughout the comprehensive studies on disorder layer of TiO 2 , disorder engineering on photocatalyst materials will suggest the further extension of developing solar‐fuel production technologies.