Surfactant assisted synthesis of nickel vanadium oxide nanostructures with strong visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity

Nickel vanadium oxide (NiV2O6) nanoparticles were effectively synthesized using hydrothermal technique by changing the surfactants. The variation in the properties of the NiV2O6 based on the surfactants like cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Thio-glycolic acid (T-GA) was studied and reported. Methylene blue (MB) dye was utilized to investigate the photocatalytic activity of nickel vanadium oxide nanoparticles generated under the presence of CTAB as surfactant. The materials showed more than 80% degradation of methylene blue dye in 150 min. A putative photocatalytic process has been postulated in this paper. Nanoparticles were shown to have high photocatalytic activity and stability, according to the findings. Based on radical trapping experimental observations conducted with different scavengers such as 2-propanol, benzoquinone and EDTA, the major role played by OH− in the degradation process were reported in detail.