Oxide Semiconductors for Solar Energy Conversion Titanium Dioxide

Oxide semiconductors, including titanium dioxide (TiO2), are increasingly being considered as replacements for silicon in the development of the next generation of solar cells. Oxide Semiconductors for Solar Energy Conversion: Titanium Dioxide presents the basic properties of binary metal oxide semiconductors and the performance-related properties of TiO2 as they relate to solar energy. The book provides a general background on oxide semiconductors based on binary oxides and their solid solutions, including electronic and ionic conductors. It covers several aspects of solid-state electrochemistry of oxides, such as defect chemistry, and defect-related properties, such as electrical properties, diffusion, segregation, and reactivity. The author also takes a pioneering approach in considering bulk versus surface semiconducting properties, showing how they are different due to the effect of segregation. One of the first on semiconducting, photocatalytic, and photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 and its solid solutions with donor- and acceptor-type ions, the book discusses defect chemistry of TiO2 in terms of defect equilibria and defect-related properties, including electrical properties, self and chemical diffusion, surface properties, segregation, and reactivity and photoreactivity with oxygen, water, and microbial agents. The text also illustrates the use of TiO2 as an emerging material for solar energy conversion systems, including the generation of hydrogen fuel by photoelectrochemical water splitting, the photocatalytic purification of water, and the generation of photovoltaic electricity. In addition, it presents defect disorder diagrams for the formation of TiO2-based semiconductors with controlled properties. Encompassing the areas of solid-state science, surface chemistry, and photocatalysis, this book reflects the increasing awareness of the importance of structural imperfections, such as point defects, in understanding the properties of metal oxides, specifically TiO2-based semiconductors.

Solid-State Electrochemistry of Binary Metal OxidesStructural DefectsNonstoichiometryPoint Defects in Binary Metal OxidesBand ModelElectrical PropertiesEffect of InterfacesDiffusionOxygen Ion ConductorsConcluding Remarks Light-Induced EffectsSolar RadiationSolar Energy SpectrumLight SourceLight-Induced Effects in SemiconductorsData ReproducibilityEnergy Conversion EfficiencyLight MeasurementsConcluding Remarks Basic Properties of TiO2Titanium OxidesTitanium TiO2Concluding Remarks Defect ChemistryUndoped TiO2Doping with Aliovalent IonsReactivity of TiO2 with HydrogenThe Real Chemical Formula of TiO2Concluding Remarks Electrical PropertiesIntroductionElectrical ConductivityThermoelectric PowerJonker AnalysisWork FunctionSurface Photovoltage SpectroscopyHall EffectCoulometric TitrationConcluding Remarks DiffusionMass Transport KineticsSelf-DiffusionChemical Diffusion Concluding Remarks Effect of InterfacesEffect of Surface Properties on ReactivitySegregationReactivity Concluding Remarks ApplicationsIntroductionPerformance-Related PropertiesSolar Hydrogen Hydrogen Generation by Photoelectrochemical Water SplittingSolar Water PurificationAlternative ApplicationsSummary and Concluding Remarks Appendix Index References and Problems appear at the end of each chapter.

Janusz Nowotny is a professor of solar energy technologies at the University of Western Sydney. He has been a recipient of the Sir William Grove Award of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy and the Pfeil Award of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in London. Dr. Nowotny was the director of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Nonstoichiometric Compounds — Surfaces, Grain Boundaries and Structural Defects. He was also the founder and co-organizer of two series of International Workshops: Nonstoichiometric Compounds and Ceramic Interfaces.