Microwave-assisted synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of mercury vanadate nanoparticles

• Main Authors: Dhanalekshmi, S. B., Priya, R., Selvi, K. Tamizh, Mangai, K. Alamelu, Weldegebrieal, Getu Kassegn, Garg, Seema, Sagadevan, Suresh
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier 2021
• Subjects: QD Chemistry; T Technology (General); TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/28697/

The present study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of mercury vanadate (Hg2VO4) (MV) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by the microwave method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated the formation of a monoclinic structure of Hg2VO4 phase with average crystallite size of 24 nm. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated individually for the synthesized MV NPs with the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl red (MR) dyes in the presence of a small amount of H2O2 oxidant. The result showed that the former dye was degraded by 50% while the later was decomposed by about 76% in 90 min under visible light irradiation. The pseudo first-order rate constant of the reactions was calculated to be 0.0072 and 0.0158 min-1 with the respective to half-life of 96 and 44 min for same time duration. The removal efficiency of MV-doped ion exchanger resin for Cobalt (Co2+) and Nickel (Ni2+) ions from aqueous media via adsorption mechanism was found to be 91.6 and 92.6%, respectively in 3 h saturation time.