Preparation and photocatalytic performance of novel palladium oxide/bismuth vanadate visible light induced composite photocatalysts

Novel palladium oxide (PdO)/bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) visible light-induced composite photocatalysts were prepared by the impregnation method. The physical and optical properties of the composite photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy. The photo-catalytic performance of the PdO/BiVO4 samples was evaluated by decolorization of methyl orange under visible light (λ > 400 nm) irradiation. The results indicate that the PdO/BiVO4 photocatalysts are monoclinic phase and consist of quatrefoil-like and spherical particles. The XPS results reveal that the doped Pd species exists in the form of PdO. The composite samples show superior visible light-induced photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange compared to the pure BiVO4 sample. The efficient separation of photo-generated carriers is considered to be the possible reason for the enhanced photocatalytic performance of these composite photocatalysts.