Titania nanotubes and fullerenes C60 assemblies and their photocatalytic activity under visible light

Titania nanotubes (TiNTs) functionalized with fullerenes (C60) have been successfully synthesized through a simple impregnation method using ethanol and toluene as co-solvents. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), Raman spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. Differences in UV–vis light absorption of TiNTs samples loaded with 1%, 2% and 5% C60 were attributed to excited states from the formation of fullerene aggregates. C60-sensitizing was found to effectively enhance the photocatalytic degradation of an organic molecule in the gas phase. Photocatalytic decomposition of isopropanol was carried out and showed high degradation in the visible region, where the TiNTs samples loaded with 5 wt% C60 offered the best activity.