Abstract

The study focuses on the application of orthogonal array design for optimizing of the experimental parameters influencing the synthesis of terbium(III) molybdate nano-plates through the direct precipitation method (DPM). The method conditions, included the concentrations of the cation and anion solutions (C-x and C-y), flow rate of adding the cation solution to that of the anion (F-x), and reactor temperature (T-z), were optimized in terms of the thickness of the produced nanoplates. Performing the analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the results revealed that the synthesis procedure can be optimized through using proper concentrations of the solutions (0.005 and 0.01 mol/L one-to-one for Tb(III) and MoO42-) as well as the reactor temperature (0 degrees C). The morphology and purity of the optimal product were also evaluated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results displayed that the thickness of the deposited terbium(III) molybdate nano-plates is about 26 nm. The optimal product was also tested and found to be an efficient catalyst in the UV-induced degradation of methyl orange (MO) by degrading about 97 MO after 80 min. (c) 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13091, 2019