Photocatalytic TiO2-based coatings for environmental applications

This review intends to provide a representative survey of nanostructured TiO coatings obtained by means of different deposition techniques, either starting from pre-formed TiO based nanostructures or directly synthetizing the nanostructured photocatalysts in situ on a surface, from suitable precursors. In particular, some among the most recent reports regarding a range of conventional as well as emergent techniques to obtain nanostructured TiO based coatings, are presented, discussing their characteristics and advantages, in the light of the experimental conditions and the supporting substrates. Selected examples of commercially available nanostructured TiO based products and real applications of nanostructured TiO based coatings for water and air remediation, self-cleaning, cultural heritage protection and bactericidal inactivation are described, including a very topical example of microbial inactivation represented by a TiO nanostructured coating against the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces. Overall, the current coating technologies seems to be mature enough to hold a significant promise in view of the real scale applications of nanostructured TiO in environmental field.