Facile synthesis of palladium nanoparticles/polypyrrole-carbon black/Bi2O3 ternary nanocomposite for efficient photocatalytic degradation of colorless and colored pollutants under visible light

Abstract

In present report, an efficient, reliable ternary photocatalyst based on Bi2O3 nanostructure accompanied by polypyrrole doped carbon black (PPC) and palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) was created employing simple ultra-sonication and photo-reduction methodologies for treatment of contaminated water. XRD studies confirmed the tetragonal phase of β-Bi2O3 while elemental composition and nanocomposite development amongst Pd NPs, PPC and Bi2O3 has been confirmed by XPS and FTIR investigations. TEM studies revealed the presence of Pd NPs of 5–15 nm, stacked layers of dense beads of PPC along with irregular ball like particles of Bi2O3 grown in high density in designed ternary photocatalyst. Newly developed Pd@PPC/Bi2O3 photocatalytic framework was found to be highly effective when employed on colorless insecticide imidacloprid (IMD) and methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light. Newly fabricated Pd@PPC/Bi2O3 photocatalyst showed excellent removing skills with 93.60 % elimination of IMD just in 30 min representing 276 % more effectual than pristine Bi2O3. Furthermore, Pd@PPC/Bi2O3 nanostructure was found to be stable and exceptionally active towards MB, with a total dye elimination achieved within 12 min. Enhanced performance of the ternary photocatalyst was attributed to increased surface area, enhanced charge carrier transfer with better separation behavior.

Keywords

• Bi2O3
• Ternary photocatalyst
• Pd NPs
• Ultrasonication
• Photoreduction
• Imidacloprid