Synthesis Nd₂TiO₅ nanoparticles with different morphologies by novel approach and its photocatalyst application

Abstract

Nowadays, in connection with the increasing pollution of the environment, several studies are performed in order to find new group of compounds which could replace chemical synthesis capping agents due to their high toxicity to ecosystem and difficulty in being degraded in the environment. In the current study, an attempt is made to synthesize neodymium titanate (Nd₂TiO₅) nanoparticles through a novel approach with the aid of capping agents such as alanine, leucine, and histidine in an aqueous solution and investigate their effect on the morphology and particle size of final products. According to the vibrating sample magnetometer result, Nd₂TiO₅ nanoparticles indicated a paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. In addition, methyl orange was chosen as a dye water pollution to evaluate its degradation by Nd₂TiO₅ nanoparticles under ultraviolet light irradiation. Furthermore, the photocatalysis results reveal that the maximum decolorization of 63 % for methyl orange occurred with Nd₂TiO₅ nanoparticles in 60 min under ultraviolet light irradiation.