PCBM supported on titania used as an efficient photocatalyst under visible light
Abstract
A [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)-modified TiO2 photocatalyst was prepared by a simple facile chemisorption approach. The photocatalytic activity was obtained for the degradation of the nonbiodegradable azo dye methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation and the as-prepared samples showed excellent photocatalytic activity. After being modified by PCBM, the optimum synergistic effect was found at a weight ratio of 2.4 wt% (PCBM/TiO2) and the photocatalytic activities increased about 3.72 and 2.89 times for the degradation of MB under visible light irradiation compared to pure PCBM and TiO2, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of PCBM-modified TiO2 comes from the high separation efficiency of a photoinduced electron–hole pair which is produced by the interaction of TiO2 and PCBM with the conjugated π-system.