Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2022) 137: 565
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

Abstract

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.