Titanium dioxide based self-cleaning smart surfaces: A short review

The bio-inspired nanotechnology of self-cleaning surfaces and coatings are nowadays being much attracted in the field of energy and environment because of the ever-increasing demand of uncontaminated, self-disinfected and hygienic surfaces. Such surfaces/coatings can be adopted on glass windows, automobile windshields, anti-fouling membranes, textiles, building construction materials, paints; on optoelectronic devices like solar panels, photochromic glasses, etc; in the food industry and for medical aids. This review gives a special emphasis to superhydrophilic self-cleaning surfaces. The mechanism of photocatalytic self-cleaning and superhydrophilicity of nano TiO2 based systems is carefully investigated. The photogenerated reactive oxygen species generated during photoexcitation of electrons from the valence band to the conduction band of TiO2 is responsible for its photocatalytic behaviour, anti-bacterial property and superhydrophilicity. Emphasis is given on various systems and methods that could enhance the self-cleaning behaviour of TiO2 in the solar spectrum since pristine TiO2 is only ultraviolet responsive. TiO2-semiconductor heterojunctions, hybrids of TiO2 with graphene and graphitic monolayers, tailoring the exposed crystal facets in TiO2, metal and non-metal doping and dye sensitization, attributing to visible light photocatalytic self-cleaning activity are focused in detail. Various techniques adopted for the synthesis and fabrication of superhydrophilic self-cleaning materials and coatings are discussed.