Understanding and Improving Photocatalytic Activity of Pd-Loaded BiVO₄ Microspheres: Application to Visible Light-Induced Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reaction

The effective utilization of visible light is required for exploiting photocatalytic reactions in indoor and outdoor environments. In this study, Pd-supported BiVO4 microspheres (Pd–BiVO4) were prepared for visible light-induced photocatalytic reactions. Under irradiation with a white light-emitting diode, the obtained Pd–BiVO4 composite exhibited considerably improved catalytic activity for the decomposition of an organic dye compared with other BiVO4 catalysts. The Pd–BiVO4 composite was also effective for catalytic organic transformation via the visible light-induced Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction. The photogenerated electrons in the conduction band of BiVO4 flowed to the Pd nanoparticles and amplified cross-coupling reaction. The influence of the crystal structure and grain size of BiVO4 and the role of the deposited Pd nanoparticles were fully investigated to elucidate the visible light activity of the catalyst. This system highlights the possibility of an indoor light source with low energy density for sustainable organic transformations.