Nanostructured titania (TiO₂) is the most widely applied semiconducting oxide for a variety of purposes, and it is found in many commercial products. The vast majority of uses rely on its photo-activity, which, upon light irradiation, results in excited states that can be used for diverse applications. These range from catalysis, especially for energy or environmental remediation, to medicine—in particular, to attain antimicrobial surfaces and coatings for titanium implants. Clearly, the properties of titania are enhanced when working at the nanoscale, thanks to the increasingly active surface area. Nanomorphology plays a key role in the determination of the materials’ final properties. In particular, the nucleation and growth of nanosized titania onto carbon nanostructures as a support is a hot topic of investigation, as the nanocarbons not only provide structural stability but also display the ability of electronic communication with the titania, leading to enhanced photoelectronic properties of the final materials. In this concise review, we present the latest progress pertinent to the use of nanocarbons as templates to tailor nanostructured titania, and we briefly review the most promising applications and future trends of this field.

中文翻译：

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二氧化钛装饰的碳纳米结构：形态控制与应用

纳米结构的二氧化钛 (TiO ₂) 是用于各种用途的最广泛应用的半导体氧化物，在许多商业产品中都有发现。绝大多数用途都依赖于其光活性，在光照射下，光活性会产生可用于各种应用的激发态。这些范围从催化，尤其是用于能源或环境修复的催化，到医学——尤其是获得抗菌表面和钛植入物的涂层。显然，由于活性表面积越来越大，在纳米级工作时，二氧化钛的特性得到了增强。纳米形态在确定材料的最终性能方面起着关键作用。特别是纳米二氧化钛在作为载体的碳纳米结构上的成核和生长是研究的热点，由于纳米碳不仅提供结构稳定性，而且还显示出与二氧化钛的电子通信能力，从而增强了最终材料的光电性能。在这篇简明的综述中，我们介绍了使用纳米碳作为模板来定制纳米结构二氧化钛的最新进展，并简要回顾了该领域最有前途的应用和未来趋势。