Optimizing the procedure for the synthesis of nanoscale gadolinium(III) tungstate as efficient photocatalyst

The parameters affecting the properties of the product obtained through the precipitation reaction between Gd3+ and WO4 (2-) ions were optimized through the Taguchi robust design and the final product was studied in terms of its physico-chemical characteristics to evaluate the effect of the parameters. The chemical precipitation reaction used to this end involved the direct addition of solutions of Gd3+ to those of WO4 (2-) in aqueous solvents and the variables studied included the concentrations of the ionic species as well as the flow rate of the cation solution added to the anion solution (F-z) and the reaction temperature. The analysis of variance of the results revealed that manipualting the WO4 (2-) concentration, F-z and the reaction temperature can lead to optimal results. The optimum product was finally characterized through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, the as-synthsized gadolinium tungstate nanoparticles were used as an efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under ultraviolet light, and the results showed that the prepared gadolinium tungstate particles possessed superior photocatalitic activity than TiO2.