Wet-chemical preparation of TiO₂-based composites with different morphologies and photocatalytic properties

TiO₂-based composites have been paid significant attention in the photocatalysis field. The size, crystallinity and nanomorphology of TiO₂ materials have an important effect on the photocatalytic efficiency. The synthesis and photocatalytic activity of TiO₂-based materials have been widely investigated in past decades. Based on our group’s research works on TiO₂ materials, this review introduces several methods for the fabrication of TiO₂, rare-earth-doped TiO₂ and noble-metal-decorated TiO₂ particles with different morphologies. We focused on the preparation and the formation mechanism of TiO₂-based materials with unique structures including spheres, hollow spheres, porous spheres, hollow porous spheres and urchin-like spheres. The photocatalytical activity of urchin-like TiO₂, noble metal nanoparticle-decorated 3D (three-dimensional) urchin-like TiO₂ and bimetallic core/shell nanoparticle-decorated urchin-like hierarchical TiO₂ are briefly discussed.