Easy synthesis, structural characterization and application of calcium tungstate nanostructures to degradation of Rhodamine B

Calcium tungstate (CaWO۴) nanostructures have been synthesized via the co-precipitation process using the precursor Ca(Sal)۲ (Sal = salicylidene) and sodium tungstate dehydrate (Na۲WO۴.۲H۲O). The characterization of the as-synthesized nanostructures was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To attain the best conditions, the effects of various parameters such as solvent, temperature and surfactant were investigated. A general, facile and efficient approach was confirmed in this research to control the morphology and composition of scheelite-type CaWO۴ nanostructures in methanol and aqueous solutions. To evaluate the catalytic activity of CaWO۴ as nanophotocatalyst, the adsorption and degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye on CaWO۴ nanostructures were investigated, and ۹۰% of the organic contaminant (Rhodamine B) was decolorized in ۶۰ minutes.

Keywords:

Ca(Sal)۲ , CaWO۴ , nanophotocatalyst , RhB , surfactant