Low-temperature synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic properties of lanthanum vanadate LaVO4
S. Lotfi,
M. El Ouardi,
H. Ait Ahsaine,
V. Madigou,
A. BaQais,
A. Assani,
M. Saadi,
M. Arab
Affiliations
S. Lotfi
Laboratoire de chimie appliquée des matériaux, faculté des sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
M. El Ouardi
Laboratoire de chimie appliquée des matériaux, faculté des sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco; Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanoscience du Provence IM2NP, UMR, CNRS, Université du Sud Toulon-Var, France
H. Ait Ahsaine
Laboratoire de chimie appliquée des matériaux, faculté des sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco; Corresponding author.
V. Madigou
Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanoscience du Provence IM2NP, UMR, CNRS, Université du Sud Toulon-Var, France
A. BaQais
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A. Assani
Laboratoire de chimie appliquée des matériaux, faculté des sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
M. Saadi
Laboratoire de chimie appliquée des matériaux, faculté des sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco
M. Arab
Institut Matériaux Microélectronique et Nanoscience du Provence IM2NP, UMR, CNRS, Université du Sud Toulon-Var, France
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.
