Nanostructured TiO2-based materials with photocatalytic properties

Abstract

In order to reduce global climate change by limiting CO 2 emissions, it is necessary to switch from continuous power production by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) to the unsteady energy generation from local renewable energy sources. Wind, sun and rivers are the most popular renewable energy sources, but they are available occasionally or seasonally, which doesn't always coincide with required consumption. It is especially important for countries in Northern latitudes with dark and short days in winter, and sunny, long days in summer, like Latvia. Therefore, reliable energy storage systems are critically needed to store and supply power in continuous manner. Electricity and hydrogen are two comparable energy carriers, and in order to be able to meet humanity's demand for energy storage in the form of electricity and/or hydrogen, appropriate materials are researched [1]. In hydrogen economics, the production of hydrogen from renewables is very important. TiO 2 has attracted high interest of industry and scientific communities. Following the discovery by Honda and Fujishima [2] of TiO 2 photocatalytic properties, it has been used