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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an excellent photocatalyst for water and air purification. Because of the strong oxidation power of photogenerated holes from TiO2, it can decompose almost all organic compounds. However, some limitations of its quantum yields remain because of its poor charge separation efficiency and its low Fermi level for O2 reductions. Heteropolyacids (HPAs) are a subclass in a family of polyoxometalates (POMs), which are clusters of metal oxides that have a well-defined structure. Materials of this group enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 by a Z-scheme. Initially, the HPA(aq)/TiO2(s) system was mainly studied. Recently however, transparent thin films of these hybrid materials have been prepared. Their unique properties such as excellent retention of the hydrophilicity after stopping UV illumination were reported. Herein, we review several recent studies that have examined these hybrid materials as photocatalysts.

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