SummaryFreely assembled palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) on titania (TiO2) nano photocatalysts were successfully synthesized through a photodeposition method using natural sunlight. This synthesized heterogeneous photocatalyst (Pd/TiO2) was characterized through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-DRS), Raman and photoluminescence (PL) analyses. The simple and smart synthesis anchored well the deposition with controlled Pd NPs size ranging between 17 and 29 nm onto the surface of TiO2. Thus, it gives the characteristic for Pd NPs to absorb light in the visible region obtained through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPRs). Apparently, the photocatalytic activity of the prepared photocatalysts was evaluated by degrading the endocrine disrupting compound (EDC) amoxicillin (AMX) excited under an artificial visible light source. In the preliminary run, almost complete degradation (97.5%) was achieved in 5 h with 0.5 wt % Pd loading and the degradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The reusability trend proved the photostability of the prepared photocatalysts. Hence, the study provides a new insight about the modification of TiO2 with noble metals in order to enhance the absorption in the visible-light region for superior photocatalytic performance.

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Poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) macrointermediates (PtBMA-Br) with an end of bromine atom were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization using ethylbromopropionate as an initiator in bulk in the presence of N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyl diethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as a single ligand. A new macromonomer (MAAPtBMA) was successfully prepared via end-group nucleophilic substitution with methacrylic acid to attain a high efficiency of C＝C incorporation. The molecular weights of MAA-PtBMA macromonomers were controllable from 5400 to 11000 g/mol, and the molecular weight distribution was narrow (≤1.20). Then, the PtBMA graft polystyrene (PtBMA-g-PSt) microspheres were prepared by dispersion copolymerization of MAA-PtBMA macromonomers with styrene using 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile as a free radical initiator in ethanol. The resulting PtBMA-g-PSt microspheres were regulated in diameter on a micron scale.

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