Creation of Photo-physical-chemical Functions of Nanostructured Materials via Various Structure Tuning

Abstract

Oxide semiconductor materials exhibit excellent properties and new functions due to the synergy of their size and shape. In this study, various structural tunings of titanium oxide (titania) nanopowders, which have low-dimensional nanometer-scale structures such as nanotube structures and, hence, exhibit excellent physicochemical and photochemical functions, were performed to further improve their photocatalytic properties and to add advanced functions. Specifically, we describe the unique nanocomposite structures and their photocatalytic and sensing properties of TNT-based nanocomposites with different materials (nanocarbons and conductive polyaniline polymers) obtained by solution chemical processes. Furthermore, recent research results on the control of the surface chemical structure of low-dimensional nanostructured titania by a simple chemical treatment to add visible light responsivity, including process and structure, physical properties, and improvement of photochemical (photocatalytic) functions, will be presented, aiming at applications in the environmental and energy fields, and even in next-generation biomedical fields.