1.School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China 2.National Engineering Research Center for Colloidal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
Solar photocatalysis has the potential applications for the control of environmental pollution and the alleviation of energy crisis. Nanostructured TiO2 has attracted an extensive attention owing to its good activity, high stability, and nontoxicity. Recently, anatase TiO2 with exposed highenergy facets can efficiently promote the separation of photoexcited charge carriers. The photoinduced electrons in anatase TiO2 tend to migrate to (101) facets, while photoexcited holes transfer to (001) facets. In addition, anatase TiO2 mesocrystals are one kind of nanomaterials with special structures and properties. High crystallity and large surface area of mesocrystals are favorable for the photocatalysis. Furthermore, researchers also focus on hierarchical or highly active TiO2. This review summarized the synthesis of several nanostructured TiO2 with highenergy facets, anatase TiO2 mesocrystals and hierarchical TiO2, analyzed the effect of morphology on the photocatalytic activity, discussed the photocatalytic mechanism of TiO2 with different exposed facets, and presented the synthesis of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles with photoreductive activity and their application in photoreversible color switching and rewritable paper.