Electrospun fibers functionalized with phthalocyanine-gold nanoparticle conjugates for photocatalytic applications

The heterogeneous photocatalytic activity of Zn(II) phthalocyanine-gold nanoparticle conjugates immobilized on electrospun polystyrene fibers was investigated using 4-chlorophenol and Orange G as model pollutants. The phthalocyanine-gold nanoparticle conjugates were synthesized via a ligand exchange reaction and characterized using spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The interaction between the gold nanoparticles and phthalocyanines did not restrict the formation of excited singlet states, triplet states and hence the formation of singlet oxygen required for photocatalysis. The conjugates showed significantly higher singlet oxygen quantum yields and enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to the phthalocyanines. It was concluded that hybrid electrospun fibers provide great potential as active photocatalysts for oxidizing organic pollutants using singlet oxygen as an oxidant.

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► Conjugates of zinc phthalocyanine with gold nanoparticles were synthesized.
► The conjugates were incorporated into an electrospun fiber.
► The modified fiber was used for phototransformation of 4-nitrophenol and Orange G.
► The conjugate showed better photocatalytic activity than phthalocyanine on its own.