Zinc oxide-palladium material an efficient solar-light driven photocatalyst for degradation of congo red

Zinc oxide palladium nanocomposite material (ZnO-Pd)$_{NCM}$ was prepared and then characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and field emission-scanning electron microscopy. The photocatalytic performance of (ZnO-Pd)$_{NCM}$ was investigated by degradation of Congo red under solar light irradiation. Zinc oxide modified with palladium metal could greatly enhance its photocatalytic activity and effectively degraded by Congo red dye.