Preparation of TiO2-fullerene composites and their photocatalytic activity under visible light

Abstract

The development of visible light-sensitive photocatalytic materials is being investigated. In this study, the anatase and rutile-C60 composites were prepared by solution process. The characterization of the samples was conducted by using XRD, UV-vis, FT-IR, Raman, and TEM. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the decolorization of the methylene blue. From the results of the Raman, FT-IR, and XRD, the existence of the C60 was confirmed in the samples. The C60 was modified on the anatase or rutile particle as a cluster. The C60 didn't have the photocatalytic activity under UV and visible light. The anatase and rutile-C60 composites exhibited lower photocatalytic activity than the anatase and rutile under UV light. The anatase-C60 exhibited also lower activity than the anatase under visible light. On the other hand, the rutile-C60 exhibited higher activity than the rutile under visible light. It is considered that the photogenerated electrons can transfer from the C60 to the rutile under visible light irradiation. Copyright © 2012 Ken-ichi Katsumata et al.