Schiff-base hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Nd2O3 nanostructures for effective photocatalytic degradation of eriochrome black T dye as water contaminant

Nd(OH)(3) nanostructures have been prepared through a new simple hydrothermal approach with Nd(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O and tetraethylenepentamine (tepa) as starting materials in presence of bis-(2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde)-1,2-phenylenediamine as novel capping agent. Bis-(2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde)-1,2-phenylenediamine was employed as capping agent in presence of tepa to produce nanostructured Nd(OH)(3) for the first time. Pure hexagonal Nd2O3 nanostructures with superior photocatalytic activity were synthesized by thermal conversion of nanostructured Nd(OH)(3) in air at 700 A degrees C for 4 h. The formation of as-obtained nanostructures and their structure and shape were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). By varying the precipitator type, reaction time and applying Schiff base ligand as novel capping agent, the approach permits us to produce samples with various particle sizes and shapes. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of as-produced Nd2O3 samples with various particle sizes and shapes was investigated by degradation of eriochrome black T dye as water contaminant.