Biogenic synthesis and photocatalysis of Pd-PdO nanoclusters reinforced hierarchical TiO2 films with interwoven and tubular conformations

Hierarchical nanocomposite films with Pd-PdO nanoparticles anchored uniformly on the inner surface of TiO2 nanotubes were achieved through a stepwise bioredox/artifical oxygenation approach by using the natural eggshell membrane (ESM) as a template. The Pd content ratio of Pd-PdO loading could be arbitrarily varied from 0 to 53 wt %, and the ESM-morphic nanocomposites Pd-PdO/TiO2 exhibited porous and multiphasic features, facilitating light transport and molecule accessibility to the active site during photocatalytic reactions. The photocatalytic activity of target nanocomposites was determined by the degradation of rhodamine B. The composites with a ratio of 10 wt % TiO2 (5 wt % Pd of Pd-PdO loading) presented a high degradation efficiency of 99.3% and showed good stability with a second run of about 95.3% and a third run of 94.6%. These composites with structural particularity and complexity are expected to find potential applications in various fields, such as photovoltaic devices, gas sensors, antistatic coating, dye-sensitized solar cells, etc.