RuPd Alloy Nanoparticles Supported on Plasmonic HxMoO3–y for Efficient Photocatalytic Reduction of p‐Nitrophenol

Abstract

p‐Nitrophenol (PNP) has aroused much concern due to its high toxicity in industrial wastewater and drinking water. Herein, we designed a new plasmonic RuPd/HxMoO3–y catalyst synthesized by a simple impregnation method, followed by H2 atmosphere reduction. The synthesized RuPd/HxMoO3–y hybrid, having RuPd alloy nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on HxMoO3–y, namely hydrogen‐doped molybdenum oxide support, shows a strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak at around 639 nm. Photocatalytic activity of Ru/HxMoO3–y hybrid for the reduction of PNP to p‐aminophenol (PAP) under visible light irradiation can be dramatically improved by alloying with Pd atoms. More importantly, a reasonable mechanism for PNP reduction is proposed. We find that synergetic effect between HxMoO3–y and RuPd alloy NPs of RuPd/HxMoO3–y plays a vital role in photocatalytic reduction, in which RuPd alloy NPs act as the active species and plasmonic HxMoO3–y acts as electron‐donation centre.