https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02762-z
Regular Article
Ultrasonically Pd functionalized, surface plasmon enhanced ZnO/CeO2 heterostructure for degradation of organic pollutants in water
1
Department of Chemistry, Maharshi Dayanand University, 124001, Rohtak, India
2
Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, 0728, Sovenga, South Africa
3
Centre for Nanostructures and Advanced Materials (CeNAM), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 0001, Pretoria, South Africa
4
Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Robert Sobukwe Drive, 7535, Bellville, South Africa
5
Department of Chemistry, Deenbandhu Chottu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, Sonipat, India
6
Department of Chemistry, Baba Mastnath University, Rohtak, India
g
naveenkumar.chem@mdurohtak.ac.in
Received:
21
January
2022
Accepted:
24
April
2022
Published online:
9
May
2022
Recognizing the intrinsic active behavior of photocatalyst benefits to design a superior photocatalyst with a little bit amount of noble metal as compared to their heavily loaded counterparts and mixed oxides will always be appreciable. Herein, systematic studies of Pd deposition on ZnO/CeO2 nanostructures were explored to realize superior photodegradation efficacies. Pd-dispersed ZnO/CeO2 were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method followed by ultrasonication deposition technique. Pd functionalization improved the structural, morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of ZnO/CeO2 composites. Experimental data and kinetics studies revealed that composites with 1.0 wt. % Pd exhibit superior photocatalytic activity toward Rhodamine B and Triclopyr degradation. To evaluate the highest active species, different scavengers like IPA, EDTA, and BQ were used. The degradation kinetics at different pH values were also explored to study the effect of reaction medium pH. This work offers new insights to scheme Pd deposition on the binary composite to improve photocatalytic activity.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022