Hybrid material consisting of mechanoluminescent material and TiO2 photocatalyst

From the viewpoint of utilizing a mechanoluminescent (ML) material as a light source, the surface of the ML material should have the most effective photoreaction with the strongest photointensity from the ML material. A hybrid material that combines an ML material and a photoreactant material is a promising way of accomplishing this. This paper discusses a preparation method for a hybrid material consisting of the ML material and TiO2 photocatalytic nanoparticles. By using the surface sol–gel method, we succeeded in immobilizing the TiO2 photocatalytic nanoparticles on the surface of the ML material, thus preparing a hybrid material where the nanoparticles took over the original mechanoluminescence and photocatalysis activities.