Abstract

To optimize the chemical precipitation reaction between holmium and carbonate ions, and get to a simple and fast route for the synthesis of holmium carbonate nanoparticles, the Taguchi robust design was used. To this end the effects of different variables on the properties of the product were considered and the significance of each parameter in the determination of the physical properties of the produced holmium carbonate nanoparticles were further quantitatively evaluated through the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results of this study proved that the product prepared under the optimum values of the parameters has an average size of about 37 nm. Next the solid state thermal decomposition of the carbonate precipitate was performed to prepare nanosized holmium oxide particles of around 30 nm in size. Furthermore, the microstructure and composition of fabricated nanoparticles were assessed by different techniques, i.e., TEM, FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, and also UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Finally, the photocatalyst behavior of the prepared nanoparticles in water treatment was evaluated and the results confirm the potential of them for efficient elimination of organic pollutant.