1. Principle of photocatalysis
1.1 Definition
Ethymologically, the term photocatalysis is derived from three Greek words: phôtos (light), kata (down or back) and lysis (dissolution or decomposition).
Photocatalysis is therefore the action of a substance called a "photocatalyst" which, under the action of light, increases the speed of a thermodynamically possible chemical reaction without intervening in the reaction's balance equation.
Nowadays, the term "photocatalysis" refers more specifically to "heterogeneous photocatalysis" in which the photocatalyst is a semiconductor (most often titanium dioxide, TiO 2 ), not a transition metal molecule or complex.
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Principle of photocatalysis
Characteristics of the most widely used photocatalyst: titanium dioxide
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