Reusable PdO/Al2O3–Nd2O3 photocatalysts in the UV photodegradation of phenol

Abstract

The UV photodegradation of phenol in aqueous medium using PdO supported on binary Al2O3–Nd2O3 oxides as photocatalysts was studied. The PdO/Al2O3–Nd2O3 photocatalysts were prepared by the sol–gel method and characterized by N2 physisorption, XRD, Raman spectroscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Bare PdO/γ-Al2O3 was found active for the photodegradation of phenol in aqueous medium. However, the addition of Nd2O3 to the γ-Al2O3 improves the photocatalytic activity of PdO photocatalysts as well as the decrease of dissolved organic carbon in aqueous milieu. Highest photocatalytic activity of PdO photocatalysts was observed for 10wt% of Nd2O3 added to the γ-Al2O3 increasing the activity by a factor of two with respect to that of PdO/γ-Al2O3 after six hours of irradiation. The photocatalytic activity in the degradation of phenol by using the recovered PdO/Al–Nd photocatalysts is preserved after reaction.