Hydrothermal synthesis of Yttrium orthovanadate (YVO 4) and its application in photo catalytic degradation of sewage water

In this paper, YVO ₄ powder was successfully synthesized from Vanadium Pentaoxide (V ₂O ₅), Yttrium Oxide (Y ₂O ₃) and ethyl acetate as a mineralizer by hydrothermal method at a low temperature (T=.230°C, and P=100bars).The as-prepared powders were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), UV-V Spectroscopy and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of the sewage water, respectively. The results show that hydrothermal method can greatly promote the crystallization and growth of YVO ₄ phase. XRD pattern clearly indicates the tetragonal structure and crystallanity. An FTIR spectrum of the YVO ₄ shows the presence of Y-O and V-O bond, respectively. The presence of these two peaks indicates that yttrum vanadate has been formed. UV-V is absorption spectra suggesting that YVO ₄ particles have stronger UV absorption than natural sunlight and subsequent photocatalytic degradation data also confirmed their higher photocatalytic activity.