• Two-faceted (DAP) ― more favorable configuration than single-faceted (OAP) under UV irradiation. • Bare and modified DAP ― efficient charge carriers’ separation under UV irradiation. • Noble metal-modified OAP ― higher activity than respective DAP under vis irradiation. • “Hot” (plasmonic) electron transfer via shallow electron traps in OAP. • Localization of noble metal on DAP – key factor of vis activity.

• Enhancement of titania activity by modification with Au, Pt, Ag and Cu. • Significant change of properties by metal photodeposition in the presence of oxygen. • Correlation of antimicrobial and photocatalytic properties for octahedral anatase. • Zero-valent Pt and Au and positively charged Cu and Ag in the ambient environment. • Visible activity of Au/OAPs and Ag/OAPs, due to activation of plasmon resonance.

Titania photocatalysts have been intensively examined for both mechanism study and possible commercial applications for more than 30 years. Although various reports have already been published on titania, including comprehensive review papers, the morphology-governed activity, especially for novel nanostructures, has not been reviewed recently. Therefore, this paper presents novel, attractive, and prospective titania photocatalysts, including zero-, one-, two-, and three-dimensional titania structures. The 1D, 2D, and 3D titania structures have been mainly designed for possible applications, e.g., (i) continuous use without the necessity of particulate titania separation, (ii) efficient light harvesting (e.g., inverse opals), (iii) enhanced activity (fast charge carriers’ separation, e.g., 1D nanoplates and 2D nanotubes). It should be pointed out that these structures might be also useful for mechanism investigation, e.g., (i) 3D titania aerogels with gold either incorporated inside the 3D network or supported in the porosity, and (ii) titania mesocrystals with gold deposited either on basal or lateral surfaces, for the clarification of plasmonic photocatalysis. Moreover, 0D nanostructures of special composition and morphology, e.g., magnetic(core)–titania(shell), mixed-phase titania (anatase/rutile/brookite), and faceted titania NPs have been presented, due to their exceptional properties, including easy separation in the magnetic field, high activity, and mechanism clarification, respectively. Although anatase has been usually thought as the most active phase of titania, the co-existence of other crystalline phases accelerates the photocatalytic activity significantly, and thus mixed-phase titania (e.g., famous P25) exhibits high photocatalytic activity for both oxidation and reduction reactions. It is believed that this review might be useful for the architecture design of novel nanomaterials for broad and diverse applications, including environmental purification, energy conversion, synthesis and preparation of “intelligent” surfaces with self-cleaning, antifogging, and antiseptic properties.