Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Nanoparticles Prepared via a Film Shattering Process and Hybridization with TiO2 for Visible-Light Active Photocatalysis

We present a methodology to prepare a hybrid photocatalyst based on conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) by electrostatically adsorbing TiO2 nanoparticles on the surfaces of the CPNs to achieve synergetic effects of efficient light-harvesting by CPNs and photocatalysis by TiO2 nanoparticles by taking advantages of the energy transfer from the CPNs to TiO2. Positive surface charges on CPNs were introduced by adding a portion of cationic amphiphile during the preparation of CPNs using poly(3-hexylthiophene) and a phospholipid via a phase-separated film shattering process. Then, anionic TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized and adsorbed on the positively charged surfaces of CPNs by electrostatic attraction. The resulting hybrid nanoparticles showed efficient visible-light active photocatalysis which was confirmed by the degradation of methylene blue with visible-light irradiation.