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

• Bare PdO/γ-Al2O3 photodegradates phenol in aqueous medium.
• Nd2O3 addition to PdO/γ-Al2O3 promotes the improvement in the photocatalytic activity.
• Nd2O3 addition to PdO/γ-Al2O3 facilitates the mineralization of intermediates to CO2.
• Nd2O3 addition to PdO/γ-Al2O3 stabilizes the structure of PdO during UV irradiation.
• Photocatalytic activity over recovered PdO/γ-Al2O3–Nd2O3 is preserved.

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 10 wt% 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.

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