Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of EuVO4 Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

Using europium trioxide (Eu2O3), ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3), nitric acid and citric acid as main raw materials, the EuVO4 was prepared by a facile sol-gel method. The prepared samples were characterized by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Under ultraviolet light, the photocatalytic activities of EuVO4 were investigated by methyl orange which was used as simulated sewage. The results showed that the pure rare earth perovskite structure EuVO4 was obtained in the range of calcination temperature of 300 °C∼900. The photocatalytic experiment demonstrated that EuVO4 is highly photocatalytic active for the degradation of methyl orange under ultraviolet light irradiation. The EuVO4 particles that calcined at 700 °C were uniform and spherical with an average grain size of about 1 ∼ 2 μm. The photocatalytic performance of sample that calcinated at 700 °C was the best. When the MO of 10 mg/L was degraded for 2 h in presence of EuVO4, the degradation rate of MO can reach 95%.