Titanium Dioxide-Does Titanium Dioxide Conduct Electricity

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is generally considered an electrical insulator, which means it does not conduct electricity under standard conditions. It is a semiconductor, but it has a wide bandgap, which makes it a poor conductor of electricity at room temperature because there are very few free electrons available for conduction.

However, the conductivity of titanium dioxide can be altered under certain conditions:

1. **Doping**: By introducing impurities (doping) into the crystal lattice of titanium dioxide, it is possible to create charge carriers (electrons or holes) that can increase its conductivity.

2. **Light Exposure**: When titanium dioxide is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, it can absorb photons with energy greater than its bandgap, which can excite electrons from the valence band to the conduction band. This process, known as photoconductivity, allows the material to conduct electricity while the light is shining on it.

3. **High Temperatures**: At high temperatures, thermal energy can excite electrons across the bandgap, increasing the material’s conductivity.

Titanium dioxide’s photoconductivity is one of the reasons it is used in applications such as photovoltaics and photoelectrochemical cells.