Palladium phthalocyaninesulfonate functionalized mesoporous polymer: A highly efficient photocatalyst for degradation of 4-chlorophenol under visible light irradiation

A novel sulfonated palladium phthalocyanine (PdPcS) modified FDU-15 mesoporous polymer (FDU-PdPcS) has been prepared by rationally chemical modification process. The PdPcS molecules were highly dispersed inside the confined mesopores, and were further stabilized through a π-π interaction with mesopolymer, which may prevent the PdPcS molecules from agglomerating and deactivating in photodegradation reactions. The physicochemical properties of thus prepared FDU-PdPcS material were characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, UV-vis and inductively coupled plasma techniques. FDU-PdPcS proved to be highly efficient heterogeneous photocatalyst for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in the presence of H₂O ₂ under visible light irradiation. The photodegradation of 4-CP with an initial concentration 0.6 mM was completed within 5 h at pH 11 using a dose of 0.2 g/L of the 0.12 wt% FDU-PdPcS photocatalyst. The photodegradation intermediates were identified by GC-MS. A possible mechanism involved in the photodegradation of 4-CP has also been discussed.