Synthesis and characterization of photocatalysts designed for degradation of methylene blue

$C_{60}/TiO_2$ and $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composite photocatalysts were prepared with titanium(IV) n-butoxide (TNB) by a sol-gelmethod. Fullerenehad absorptive andsemiconducting properties,andvanadiumcouldenhance the photogenerated electron transfer. The $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composite shows a good photo-degradation activity. XRD patterns of the composites showed that the $C_{60}/TiO_2$ composite contained a mixture of anatase and rutile phase forms while the $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composite contained a typical single and clear anatase phase. The surface properties seen bySEMand FE-SEMpresent a characterization of the texture on $C_{60}/TiO_2$ and $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composites and showeda homogenous composition in the particles for the titaniumsources used. The EDX spectra for the elemental identification showed the presence of C and Ti with strongV peaks for the $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composite. From the photocatalytic results, the excellent activity of the $C_{60}/TiO_2$ and $V-C_{60}/TiO_2$ composites for degradation of methylene blue under UV irradiation could be attributed to both the effects between photocatalysis of the supported $TiO_2$ and charge transfer of the fullerene, and the introduction of vanadium to enhance the photogenerated electrons transfer.