Visible-light responsive TiO₂-based materials for efficient solar energy utilization

The photocatalytic properties of TiO₂ have aroused a broad range of research interest since 1972 due to its abundance, chemical stability, and easily available nature. To increase its overall activity, in the past few decades, much effort has been devoted to the fabrication of advanced TiO₂-based photocatalysts with visible-light response and these photocatalysts have shown great potential in the field of solar energy utilization. Here, recent progress in the investigation of visible-light responsive TiO₂-based materials are reviewed. Notably, the fabrication strategies and corresponding chemical/physical properties of visible-light responsive TiO₂-based materials are described in detail, with a focus on bandgap engineering and junction engineering from the perspective of light absorption, charge transfer and separation, and surface reactions. Their applications in solar-fuel production, organic synthesis, bacterial disinfection, pollutant degradation and nitrogen fixation are also discussed. Moreover, the new trends and ongoing challenges in this field are proposed and highlighted.