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PCBM nanoparticles as visible-light-driven photocatalysts for photocatalytic decomposition of organic dyes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 December 2018

Chanon Pornrungroj Open the ORCID record for Chanon Pornrungroj [Opens in a new window] ,
Tsunenobu Onodera Open the ORCID record for Tsunenobu Onodera [Opens in a new window]  and
Hidetoshi Oikawa Open the ORCID record for Hidetoshi Oikawa [Opens in a new window]
Chanon Pornrungroj
Affiliation:
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
Tsunenobu Onodera
Affiliation:
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
Hidetoshi Oikawa*
Affiliation:
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
*
Address all correspondence to Hidetoshi Oikawa at [email protected]
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Abstract

[6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl esters (PCBM) have emerged in recent years as important building blocks for photovoltaic devices. However, the potential of PCBM itself as a photocatalyst has not been reviewed. Here, we demonstrate PCBM nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated by the reprecipitation method as suitable photocatalysts for an effective visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation for organic dyes. An enhanced catalytic performance of PCBM can be achieved by a simple annealing process. The present PCBM NPs outperform the state-of-the-art P25 TiO2 and therefore highlights its potential as promising small molecule organic semiconductor photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity and good long-term stability.

Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 321 - 326
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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Footnotes

*

Current address: Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.

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