In order to use fullerene as a photocatalyst in the environment, fullerene materials must be developed that allow 1O2 production in the aqueous phase. Previous methods have relied on water-soluble fullerene derivatives and coupling reactions that require sophisticated chemistry. Herein, solid supported fullerene materials are prepared through the covalent immobilization of C60 via the facile reaction of a terminal amine, located on either a silica gel or polystyrene resin, with C60's cage. Fullerene supported materials are shown to produce 1O2 under visible light irradiation and to inactivate MS2 bacteriophage through 1O2 mediated damage. Furthermore, in a water with natural attributes (including NOM) fullerene supported materials produced 1O2 without exhibiting significant loss of photochemical activity after successive cycling, thus showing the potential of these materials for use in environmental systems. The preparation of solid supported fullerene presented herein is less synthetically complex and utilizes pristine [C60] fullerene, thus reducing the cost and synthetic requirements of previously studied fullerene materials for 1O2 production in water.

Simple preparation of fullerene supported materials: Visible light activated photocatalysts

247th National Meeting (2014)

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