Fundamentals of TiO2 Photocatalysis: Concepts, Mechanisms, and Challenges

Abstract Photocatalysis has been widely applied in various areas, such as solar cells, water splitting, and pollutant degradation. Therefore, the photochemical mechanisms and basic principles of photocatalysis, especially TiO 2 photocatalysis, have been extensively investigated by various surface science methods in the last decade, aiming to provide important information for TiO 2 photocatalysis under real environmental conditions. Recent progress that provides fundamental insights into TiO 2 photocatalysis at a molecular level is highlighted. Insights into the structures of TiO 2 and the basic principles of TiO 2 photocatalysis are discussed first, which provides the basic concepts of TiO 2 photocatalysis. Following this, details of the photochemistry of three important molecules (oxygen, water, methanol) on the model TiO 2 surfaces are presented, in an attempt to unravel the relationship between charge/energy transfer and bond breaking/forming in TiO 2 photocatalysis. Lastly, challenges and opportunities of the mechanistic studies of TiO 2 photocatalysis at the molecular level are discussed briefly, as well as possible photocatalysis models.