A new approach to the synthesis of the lanthanide orthovanadates CeVO 4, PrVO4, and NdVO4 is proposed. These compounds exhibit a tetragonal zircon structure, crystallizing in the space group I41/amd with a = 7.3733(4) Å, c = 6.4909(4) Å, and Z = 4. The crystal structure has been analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopies. Particle sizes were found to be in the range of 200-300 nm as seen by scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicated the formation of LnVO4. Thermal analysis of these solids indicated stability of the phase to 1000 °C. The photocatalytic activity of these compounds was investigated for the first time by the degradation of methylene blue. The degradation rates were similar for all compounds and comparable to that of commercial Degussa titania. © 2007 American Chemical Society.

Giridhar Madras

Department of Chemical Engineering

S. Mahapatra

T.N.G. Row

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is a premier institute of science and technology established in 2008. IITH has been consistently ranked in the&nbsp;<a href="https://iith.ac.in/reports/" rel="noopener noreferrer">top 10 institutes</a>&nbsp;in India for Engineering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nirfindia.org/2021/EngineeringRanking.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to NIRF</a>&nbsp;making it one of the most coveted schools for science and technology in the country.

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Journal	Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
ISSN	08885885