Improving the Visible Light Photoactivity of Supported Fullerene Photocatalysts through the Use of [C₇₀] Fullerene.

We herein present the first instance of employing [C₇₀] fullerene for photocatalytic ¹O₂ production in water, through covalent immobilization onto a mesoporous silica support via nucelophilic amine addition directly to fullerene's cage. This attachment approach prevents the aggregation of individual fullerene molecules in water, thus allowing fullerene to retain its photoactivity, yet is much less complex than other techniques commonly pursued to create such supported-fullerene materials, which typically rely on water-soluble fullerene derivatives and elaborate immobilization methods. The solid-supported C₇₀ material exhibits significantly improved aqueous visible-light photoactivity compared to previous C₆₀- and C₆₀-derivative-based supported fullerene materials.