Preparation and Characterization of Nanocrystalline La<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> by Microwave Assisted Process

Abstract

Using La (NO3)3·6H2O, TiCl4 , and citric acid as the main raw materials, nanocrystalline La2Ti2O7 samples were prepared by microwave assisted method. The structure and morphology of samples were characterized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of La2Ti2O7 was studied for methyl orange (MO) used as simulated sewage. It was found that the single phase La2Ti2O7 could be obtained through the calcination of microwave processed La2Ti2O7 precursors at 600 °C. The resulted product had an approximate spherical shape and average grain size of 50 nm in diameter. Under UV light, the photocatalytic experiment indicated that the prepared La2Ti2O7 nanocrystalline had high photocatalytic activity for degradation of methyl orange.