Photocatalytic Nanocomposites with Carbon Nanotubes and Titanium Dioxide

Photocatalytic nanocomposites combining carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) harness the complementary properties of both materials to drive light-induced redox reactions with increased efficiency. TiO₂, particularly in its anatase form, offers a robust semiconductor platform but is limited by a wide bandgap and rapid recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Integrating CNTs creates intimate interfacial contacts that serve as electron highways, extending charge-carrier lifetimes and broadening the light-absorption spectrum into the visible region. Morphological control—through hydrothermal, sol–gel or solvothermal routes—and strategies such as nitrogen or metal doping further narrow the effective bandgap and introduce mid-gap states that enhance visible-light responsiveness. Such nanocomposites have found applications in wastewater remediation, solar-driven hydrogen evolution, CO₂ reduction and air purification, demonstrating scalable routes to environmental decontamination and solar-fuel generation.

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Photocatalytic Nanocomposites with Carbon Nanotubes and Titanium Dioxide publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in photocatalytic nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes and titanium dioxide across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Photocatalysis: acceleration of chemical reactions by a catalyst activated through photon absorption.

Electron–hole recombination: process by which a photogenerated electron returns to fill the corresponding hole, reducing photocatalytic efficiency.

Bandgap: energy difference between valence and conduction bands governing the wavelengths of light that a semiconductor can absorb.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs): cylindrical carbon allotropes offering high surface area and electrical conductivity that facilitate charge transport.

Doping: intentional introduction of foreign atoms into a semiconductor lattice to modify its electronic structure and optical response.

References

1. Modified hydrothermal method for synthesizing titanium dioxide-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites for the solar-driven photocatalytic degradation of dyes. RSC Advances (2024).
2. Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 with N-Doped TiO2-Based Photocatalysts Obtained in One-Pot Supercritical Synthesis. Nanomaterials (2022).
3. Preparation of TiO2/Carbon Nanotubes/Reduced Graphene Oxide Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for the Degradation of Rhodamine B. Nanomaterials (2018).