Rapid microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis cerium vanadate nanoparticle and its photocatalytic and antibacterial studies

Catalyst or template-free synthesis of cerium orthovanadate (CeVO4) nanoparticles were synthesized by simple, fast and efficient microwave assisted hydrothermal method using Ce(NO3)3·6H2O and NaVO3 as the starting materials under basic pH condition. The prepared sample was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Uv–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Pure tetragonal CeVO4 was successfully synthesized in 10 min of reaction time. The synthesized nanoparticles showed particle sizes in the range 10–20 nm and the optical absorption onset at 456 nm. The optical band gap was calculated to be 2.8 eV. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated by studying the degradation of a model dye, Eosin yellow (EY) under visible irradiation and a feasible mechanism was proposed. More than 89% of EY (60 mg/L) was degraded within 120 min. The antibacterial activity was also evaluated against Gram + ve and Gram -ve microbial pathogens.