Highly active Pd nanoparticles decorated on benzene-ring doped g-C₃N₄ as catalyst in methylene Blue degradation and Cr (VI) ions reduction

The development of simply prepared, highly active and reusable nanocatalysts for methylene blue degradation (MB) or Cr (VI) ions reduction under sunlight conditions in wastewater remains a challenge in the field of green chemistry. Addressed herein is the catalyst of Pd(0) nanoparticles supported on benzene ring doped graphitic carbon nitride (Pd@BD-g-C3N4) for MB degradation or Cr (VI) ions reduction under visible light irradiation. Pd@BD-g-C3N4 nanocatalyst has been synthesized using the facile wet impregnation-chemical reduction method to boost the catalytic efficiency of BD-g-C3N4. The MB degradation or Cr (VI) ions reduction proceeded efficiently in the presence of Pd@BD-g-C3N4. Compared with pure BD-g-C3N4 in both studies, the hybrid photocatalyst Pd@BD-g-C3N4-exhibited enhanced visible light photoactivity was higher than of pure BD-g-C3N4. In addition, in the reusability tests, it was observed that the Pd@BD-g-C3N4 photocatalyst has good stability and repeated cycle performance. The electronic and morphologic structure of support material and nanocatalyst were characterized by several techniques such as FT-IR, DR/UV-Vis, BET, SEM-EDX, HR-TEM, P-XRD, and XPS analyses.