NaTaO3 nanoparticles with a high surface area of 46.2
m2/g have been successfully synthesized using a polymeric
citrate precursor route. As-prepared nanoparticles were extensively
characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, transmission
emission microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy studies for
the analysis of phase purity, crystallinity, and morphology. NaTaO3 nanoparticles show efficient photo-induced removal of the
methylene blue dye under sunlight, which were confirmed by using liquid
chromatography–mass spectroscopy. 86% dye has been degraded
in 200 min at neutral pH, whereas the same amount of dye was decolorized
in only 80 min at alkaline pH. Also, the dielectric behavior of the
as-prepared nanoparticles at different annealing temperatures was
explained by the Maxwell–Wagner polarization mechanism. At
500, 600, and 700 °C annealing temperatures, the dielectric constant
and dielectric loss at 500 kHz for the samples were found to be 21.5,
18, and 16 and 0.012, 0.022, and 0.029, respectively. The unsaturated
hysteresis loop shows weak ferroelectric behavior of NaTaO3 nanoparticles with remanent and saturation polarizations of 0.0013
and 0.21 μC/cm2, respectively, and S-E hysteresis
shows a bipolar strain of 0.10%.