Design, Fabrication, and Modification of Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials for Environmental and Energy Applications

TLDR

Nanotechnology enables precise control of nanoscale structures, revealing size‑ and shape‑dependent physicochemical properties and opening new science and technology applications that improve daily life and the environment. This review surveys recent progress in designing, fabricating, and modifying nanostructured semiconductor materials for environmental applications. The authors discuss TiO₂‑based nanostructures—including pure, doped, coupled, nanoporous, mesoporous, hierarchically porous, and ordered mesoporous forms—prepared via sol‑gel, microemulsion, hydrothermal, sonochemical, microwave, photochemical, and nanocasting methods to produce nanoparticles, hierarchical nanoarchitectures, thin films, and single crystals.

Abstract

Considerable effort has been made to design, fabricate, and manipulate nanostructured materials by innovative approaches. The precise control of nanoscale structures will pave the way not only for elucidating unique size/shape-dependent physicochemical properties but also for realizing new applications in science and technology. Nanotechnology offers unprecedented opportunities for improving our daily lives and the environment in which we live. This review mainly describes our recent progress in the design, fabrication, and modification of nanostructured semiconductor materials for environmental applications. Their potential applications in the field of energy are briefly introduced. The scope of this article covers a variety of semiconductor materials, focusing particularly on TiO(2)-based nanostructures (e.g., pure, doped, coupled, nanoporous, mesoporous, hierarchically porous, and ordered mesoporous TiO(2)). The preparation of nanoparticles, hierarchical nanoarchitectures, thin films, and single crystals by sol-gel, microemulsion, hydrothermal, sonochemical, microwave, photochemical, and nanocasting methods is discussed.