Photocatalysis Application for Palladium Nanoparticles Synthesized by Laser Ablation in Liquid

In this study, a simple method for creating palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) using laser ablation in a liquid medium at a wavelength of 1064 nm at different laser energies, 360, 660, and 800 mJ by 200 pulses, was investigated. The aim was to determine the differences in the structural and physical characteristics of the samples and examine the resulting changes. The presence of palladium nanoparticles was demonstrated through X-ray diffraction, and the crystal sizes were found to be 49.9, 41.5, and 16.8 nm for laser energies of 360, 660, and 800 mJ, respectively. Morphology was investigated by analyzing TEM, and the average particle sizes, as indicated by the histogram, were 100, 83.6, and 45.3 nm. Optical characteristics were assessed using UV-Vis and photoluminescence. There was an increase in the energy gap values of 2.53, 2.62, and 2.65 eV with increasing laser energy of 330, 600, and 800 mJ, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of Pd NPs in the color reduction of methylene blue (MB) was evaluated using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer to assess the utilization of samples in photocatalysts and the strength of the impact of the nano-solution on the dye. These results showed that Pd NPs exhibit significant catalytic activity in the reduction of methylene blue, especially at an energy of 800 mJ, the percentage of dye analysis reached 85% within 50 min.