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. 2023 Jun 13;9(6):e17255.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17255. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Low-temperature synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of lanthanum vanadate LaVO4

S Lotfi  1 , M El Ouardi  1   2 , H Ait Ahsaine  1 , V Madigou  2 , A BaQais  3 , A Assani  1 , M Saadi  1 , M Arab  2
Affiliations

Low-temperature synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of lanthanum vanadate LaVO4

S Lotfi et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

In this study, we have successfully prepared tetragonal lanthanum vanadate LaVO4 nanoparticles by a facile co-precipitation method at room temperature. The obtained materials were characterized using different structural and micro-structural techniques such as the characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectrometry. The obtained structure is crystallized in single tetragonal phase with pin-like nanostructure. A main optical transition with bandgap energy of 3.26 eV is evidenced, and the average lifetime of charges carriers was found to be 1 ns Furthermore, the photoluminescence occurs in the visible light range. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) with initial concentration of 10 mg L-1. The result indicates that LaVO4 particles showed a best photocatalytic activity of 98.2% degradation for methylene blue solution after irradiation of 90 min under visible light. Furthermore, the photocatalytic mechanism and reusability were studied.

Keywords: Dye degradation; Lanthanum vanadate; Optical properties; Photocatalysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
XRD pattern of t-LaVO4 synthesized by co-precipitation.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Raman spectrum of t-LaVO4 NPs obtained at room temperature.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(a) TEM image (b) electron diffraction pattern and (c) EDS spectra of t-LaVO4.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(a, b) DRS and Tauc’s spectra of t-LaVO4 nanoparticles. (c) PL graph of t-LaVO4. (d) TRPL (lifetime-decay) curve of the LaVO4 sample prepared at room temperature.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
(a) Absorption spectrum of MB in the presence of LaVO4 catalyst and in the absence of UV illumination. (b) photocatalytic decomposition of MB under UV illumination in the absence of LaVO4 particles.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
(a) UV–Vis absorption spectrum of a solution comprising 100 mg of LaVO4 photocatalyst and 10 ppm of pollutant. (b) Variation of the Ct/C0 report versus time irradiation for the pollutant MB. (c) pseudo-first-order kinetics of the photodecomposition mechanism. (d) Measurement of the zero-point charge of LOV particles: pHpzc = 6.49.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Photocatalytic degradation of MB in the presence of various quantity of LaVO4 photocatalyst (a, b, c) and different pH of solution (d, e, f).
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
(a) Photocatalytic degradation of MB by LaVO4 in presence of trapping agents. MB = 10 mg.L−1, illumination time = 90 min, scavenger = 4.10−3 mol.L−1. (b) A schematic diagram illustrating the suggested decomposition mechanism for LaVO4 catalyst. (c) photo-catalyst recycling test. (d) XRD analysis of LaVO4 photo-catalyst after photocatalytic application.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
a, b) Analysis of chemical oxygen demand removal versus time using LaVO4 photo-catalyst, pH = 9, photo-catalyst mass = 100 mg, [MB] = 10 mg/L, irradiation time 90 min.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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