Enhanced Photocatalytic Coupling of Benzylamine to N-Benzylidene Benzylamine over the Organic–Inorganic Composites F70-TiO(2) Based on Fullerenes Derivatives and TiO(2)

The organic–inorganic composites F70-TiO(2), based on fullerene with carboxyl group derivatives and TiO(2) semiconductor, have been designed and constructed to become an optical-functional photocatalyst via the facile sol–gel method. The composite photocatalyst obtained shows excellent photocatalytic activity for the high-efficiency conversion of benzylamine (BA) to N-benzylidene benzylamine (NBBA) with air pressure at a normal temperature under visible light irradiation. By optimizing the composition, the composites with the 1:15 mass ratio of F70 and TiO(2), denoted as F70-TiO(2)(1:15), demonstrated the highest reaction efficiency for benzylamine (>98% conversion) to N-benzylidene benzylamine (>93% selectivity) in this study. However, pure TiO(2) and fullerene derivatives (F70) exhibit decreased conversion (56.3% and 89.7%, respectively) and selectivity (83.8% and 86.0%, respectively). The UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and Mott–Schottky experiment’s results indicate that the introduction of fullerene derivatives into anatase TiO(2) would greatly broaden the visible light response range and adjust the energy band positions of the composites, enhancing the sunlight utilization and promoting the photogenerated charge (e(−)-h(+)) separation and transfer. Specifically, a series of results on the in situ EPR tests and the photo-electrophysical experiment indicate that the separated charges from the hybrid could effectively activate benzylamine and O(2) to accelerate the formation of active intermediates, and then couple with free BA molecules to form the desired production of N-BBA. The effective combination, on a molecular scale, between fullerene and titanium dioxide has provided a profound understanding of the photocatalysis mechanism. This work elaborates and makes clear the relationship between the structure and the performance of functional photocatalysts.