Hetero-structured palladium-coated zinc oxide photocatalysts for sustainable water treatment

Hetero-structured catalysts have recently gained considerable attention among researchers in various fields, including photocatalysis. In this study, we evaluated the performance of zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs), surface-decorated with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles, as a photocatalyst for sustainable water treatment. Pd nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the surface of the ZnO NWs by atomic layer deposition to maximize the number of active sites. As photocatalysts in water generate active oxygen species and decompose organic matter, the decomposition percentage of organic compounds was measured to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the prepared photocatalyst. The Pd nanoparticle-decorated ZnO nanowires exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance when compared with the untreated ZnO NWs. The decomposition percentage of 4-chlorophenol significantly increased from 42.5% to 62.8% when the ZnO NWs were surface-decorated with Pd nanoparticles. [Display omitted] •ZnO nanowires were fabricated by ALD and hydrothermal growth.•Pd nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of ZnO nanowires using ALD.•Degradation rates of 4-CP, pCBA and FFA were evaluated under UV irradiation.•Pd-ZnO nanowire enhanced the catalytic performance under UV irradiated conditions.