Synthesis, characterization, and investigation of magnetic and photocatalytic property of YbVO^sub 4^ nanoparticles

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 28; no. 1; p. 114
• Main Authors: Goudarzi, Mahshid, Abedini, Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Nature B.V 01.01.2017
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-016-5499-9

Nanocrystalline ytterbium vanadate (YbVO4) was prepared by simple approach based on the reaction between ytterbium nitrate hexahydrate and ammonium metavanadate in water. Besides, three capping agents such as arginine, cysteine, and asparagine were used to investigate their effects on the morphology and particle size of ytterbium vanadate nanoparticles. The formation of pure crystallized YbVO4 nanocrystals occurred when the precursor was heat-treated at 550 °C in air for 300 min. According to the vibrating sample magnetometer, ytterbium vanadate nanoparticles indicated a paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. Furthermore, the photocatalysis results reveal that the maximum decolorization of 83 % for methyl orange occurred with ytterbium vanadate nanoparticles in 60 min under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of as-obtained products were characterized by techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDX, and UV-Vis spectroscopy.