Phthalocyanines: Alternative Sensitizers of TiO2 to be Used in Photocatalysis

Abstract

Currently, titanium dioxide is a most researched semiconductor in photocatalysis field; however, practical applications of TiO 2 are limited due to high band gap (3.2 eV). In last decades, researchers implemented several strategies to improve photoactivity of TiO 2 in visible electromagnetic spectrum. Titanium dioxide (TiO 2) sensitization for absorption of naturals and/or synthetics organic dyes is an important research subject in the field, and it is an efficient method to develop practical application in waste treatment. In this chapter, we review main theoretical aspects of sensitization process of TiO 2 by phthalocyanines and its effect in photocatalytic properties. In the last section, we review reports of photocatalytic systems.

Shift the Photocatalytic Activity of P25 TiO2 Nanoparticles toward the Visible Region upon Surface Modification with Organic Hybrid of Phosphotungstate

“…Therefore, strong efforts have been devoted to activating the TiO 2 toward the visible and solar light for application purposes [1,2]. One of the approaches for attainment of this issue is dye sensitization, i.e., the adsorption of dyes especially phthalocyanines on the TiO 2 surface [3][4][5][6][7][8]. One other is modification with polyoxometalates (POMs), but pure POMs cannot shift the photocatalytic activity of pure P25 TiO 2 toward the visible region, and it is necessary to join them to valuable metallic or nonmetallic moieties [9][10][11][12][13].…”