Titanium Dioxide Early Work

Historically, this is the material which really sparked interest in the solar photoelectrolysis of water. Early papers on TiCh mainly stemmed from the applicability of TiCh in the paint/pigment industry255 although fundamental aspects such as current rectification in the dark (in the reverse bias regime) shown by anodically formed valve metal oxide film/ electrolyte interfaces was also of interest (e.g., Ref. 52). Another driver was possible applications of UV-irradiated semiconductor/electrolyte interfaces for environmental remediation (e.g., Refs. 256, 257). 

Representative early work on this remarkable material is presented in chronological order in Table 5, with all these studies aimed toward the photoelectrolysis of water. Further summaries of this early body of work are contained in Refs. 5, 6, 17-20, 25 and 32. 

Entry number Title of article Comments Reference 

1 Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode First demonstration of the feasibility of water splitting. 54 

2 The Quantum Yield of Photolysis of Water on Ti02 Electrodes Very low quantum yields ( 10 3) were measured when no external bias was applied. The effect of photon flux also explored. 224 

3 Photoelectrolysis of Water Using Semiconducting TiC 2 Crystals Study shows the necessity of a bias potential for rutile photoanodes. 225 

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Blumenfeld An early version of the Sulfate process for making titanium dioxide pigment, in which the nucleation of the precipitation of titania hydrate is accomplished by dilution under controlled conditions. Invented by J. Blumenfeld, a Russian working in London in the... 

Fortunately, the absence of such irreversible attachment to E-glass did not extend to other important substrates. Early work conducted with ATH (alumina trihydrate), calcium carbonate, and titanium dioxide demonstrated irreversible attachment to such substrates [2, 3], thereby laying the foundation for use in a diverse array of non-fiberglass applications. 

As summarized by Cassell et al. (ref. 36), the early work on microflotation described the removal of bacteria and algae from water (ref. 61, 62) thereafter, further studies demonstrated that B. cereus (ref. 63), colloidal constituents of tea (ref. 64), humic acid (ref. 65), colloidal silica (ref. 66), illite (ref. 67), titanium dioxide (ref. 68), and polystyrene latex (ref. 69) could be rapidly and efficiently removed from water by microflotation. The general variety of dispersed materials which have been separated successfully... 

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