C60: A photocatalyst for water treatment

INOR 111

Adina M. Boyd, aboyd@rice.edu1, Vanessa Velasquez1, Christie M. Sayes, csayes@rice.edu1, JD. Fortner, jf228@mail.gatech.edu2, Joshua C. Falkner, jfalkner@rice.edu1, JB. Hughes, joe.hughes@ce.gatech.edu2, and Vicki L Colvin3. (1) Department of Chemistry, Rice University, 6100 Main St., MS-60, Houston, TX 77005, (2) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, ES&T Building, Atlanta, GA 30332, (3) Dept. of Chemistry, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, MS-60, Houston, TX 77005
In organic solvents, the photochemistry of C60 and, in particular, its high yield singlet oxygen generation has been of ongoing interest. Applications such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes have leveraged this capability of C60. Recently, the singlet oxygen generation of C60 in organic media was demonstrated to catalyze processes such as the Diels-Alder reaction in organic solvents. The extension of C60 photochemistry to aqueous systems is problematic, however, as the hydrophobic C60 must be modified for water solubility. To form C60 that is accessible in water, we use a colloidal form of crystallized C60 which possesses a porous, hydrophobic interior capable of sequestering organic contaminants. At concentrations as low as 2 ppm, this material can effectively remove up to a million times its molar mass of a model contaminant from water.
 

Nanoscience: Applications
1:30 PM-4:30 PM, Sunday, 10 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Room 309, Oral

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006