UV-Absorption—The Primary Process in Photocatalysis and Some Practical Consequences

TiO2 photochemistry studies generally address reactions of photogenerated charge-carriers at the oxide surface or the recombination reactions which control the proportion of charge carriers that reach the surface. By contrast, this review focuses on UV absorption, the first photochemical step in semiconductor photocatalysis. The influence of particle size on absorption and scattering of light by small TiO2 particles is summarized and the importance of considering, the particle size in the application, not the BET or X-ray line broadening size, is emphasized. Three different consequences of UV absorption are then considered. First, two commercially important systems, pigmented polymer films and paints, are used to show that TiO2 can protect from direct photochemical degradation. Then the effect of UV absorption on the measured photocatalytic degradation of aqueous solutions of organics is considered for two separate cases. Firstly, the consequences of UV absorption by TiO2 on the generation of hydroxyl radicals from H2O2 are considered in the context of the claimed synergy between H2O2 and TiO2. Secondly, the effect of altered UV absorption, caused by changed effective particle size of the catalyst, is demonstrated for photocatalysis of propan-2-ol oxidation and salicylic acid degradation.