Metal Nanoparticle Co-Catalysts Lead to Significant Deviations in Environmental Photocatalytic Mechanisms

In this study, significant variations in catalytic reaction mechanisms were identified based on the incorporation of a nanoparticle (NP) co-catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of a model organic pollutant. The incorporation of a Pd NP co-catalyst in a BiVO4/BiOBr photocatalyst resulted in a higher reaction rate compared to the bare material, but it also led to the production of numerous different intermediates, including unanticipated brominated species. This demonstrates that photocatalytic environmental processes are highly sensitive to the structure of the catalyst, where slower systems may be preferred in order to limit the generation of toxic intermediates.