Effect of Dielectric Constant of Solvents on the Particle Size and Bandgap of La/SnO₂‐TiO₂ Nanoparticles and Their Catalytic Properties

Abstract

Lanthanum (La) supported on tin oxide‐titanium oxide (SnO2‐TiO2 ) nanoparticles were prepared by a sol–gel method followed by a hydrothermal method. Effect of different solvents (ethyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, ethylene glycol) on the particle size and catalytic activity was investigated. The nanomaterial was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, powder X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray. The catalytic and optical properties were studied using solid‐phase spectrophotometry and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, respectively. Gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) was used to detect the intermediates during the catalytic degradation of methylene blue. It was observed that with decrease in the dielectric constant (ε) of the solvent, the bandgap and particle size decrease and catalytic efficiency increases. Hence, the highest catalytic activity was observed with the solvent having the least dielectric constant.

Comparison of photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of allotropes of graphene doped Sm2O3 nanocomposites: Optical, thermal, and structural studies

“…The optical study of GO, rGO, Sm 2 O 3 , Sm 2 O 3 /GO, and Sm 2 O 3 /rGO nanocomposite was carried out by using their UV–Visible absorption data in the wavelength range of 200–600 nm. The optical bandgap was calculated by applying the Wood and Tauc Equation 2 [ 41–44 ] : By rearranging Equation : Where the value of n is 2 for direct transition, hv is the photon energy (eV), A is absorption constant, E g is the bandgap energy (eV), and (cm −1 ) is the absorption coefficient was calculated by using Equation 4 [ 45,46 ] : where k is the extinction coefficient and λ represents the wavelength of the incident photon. The extrapolating linear region of the plot versus met the abscissa and provided the value of the optical bandgap.…”

“…[38][39][40] The optical study of GO, rGO, Sm 2 O 3 , Sm 2 O 3 /GO, and Sm 2 O 3 /rGO nanocomposite was carried out by using their UV-Visible absorption data in the wavelength range of 200-600 nm. The optical bandgap was calculated by applying the Wood and Tauc Equation 2 [41][42][43][44] :…”

Elucidating the structural, catalytic, and antibacterial traits ofFicus caricaandAzadirachta indicaleaf extract‐mediated synthesis of theAg/CuO/rGOnanocomposite

“…To study the catalytic activity, 3 mg of each nanocatalyst was added to 25 mL of 40 ppm of MB, rhodamine B and ciprofloxacin solution, stirred the solution under magnetic stirring at room temperature conditions. Catalytic activity was analyzed using the UV‐visible spectrophotometer and change in absorbance of the MB solution was observed at λ max 664 nm after an interval of 5 min (Farrukh, Muneer, et al, 2016). Same procedure was followed to check the catalytic activity against rhodamine B and ciprofloxacin at λ max of 554 nm for 274 nm, respectively (Iram & Farrukh, 2016).…”