UV-light-induced photocatalytic response of Pechini sol–gel synthesized erbium vanadate nanostructures toward degradation of colored pollutants

Abstract

This study investigates synthesis of erbium vanadate nanostructures via carboxylic-assisted pechini method to optimization the morphology, size and physicochemical properties. The optimized ErVO4 nanoparticles with range size of 12–98 nm were subjected to photocatalytic ability for dye decolorization of Methyl orange (MO), Erythrosine (ER), and Methylene blue (MB) using ultraviolet irradiation. The correlation between the operational parameters (pollutant concentration and catalyst loading) and optoelectronic properties in addition to the catalytic performance of the ErVO4 structure is reported. The ideal condition for activity of ErVO4 nano-photocatalyst achieved in the 10 ppm aqueous solution of MB with catalyst loading of 0.05 g which presents 77.85% efficiency for decolorization of colored pollutant model. The recycle photocatalytic efficiency after 4 cycles is about 69.25%. Additionally, the photocatalytic mechanism direction studied in the presence of some scavengers which confirms the role of hydroxyl radical in the removal of MB. The magnetic properties of ErVO4 studied through VSM which shows the paramagnetic behavior with saturation magnetization is 1.3341 emu g−1.