ABSTRACT
The eld of photocatalysis can be traced back a century ago to early observations of the chalking of titania-based paints and to studies of the darkening of metal oxides in contact with organic compounds in sunlight. Since the mid-1990s, it has become an extremely well-researched eld due to the practical interest. The utilization of solar irradiation to supply energy or to initiate chemical reactions is already an established idea. If a wide-band gap semiconductor such as titanium dioxide (TiO2) is irradiated with light, excited electron-hole pairs result that can be applied in solar cells to generate electricity or in chemical processes to create or degrade specic compounds. In this chapter, I will try to put together an overview of the more fundamental aspects
11.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 283 11.2 Basics of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis .......................................................284
