Lanthanum oxide was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method by varying the reaction time such as 6, 12, and 24 h. In XRD, study confirms the presence of a hexagonal structure, and the phase remains the same at different times; the main goal is to assess the average crystallite size of prepared La2O3 nanoparticles, which was found in the range of 6 to 8 nm. An interesting observation from the XRD data was the apparent increase in crystalline nature as the synthesis time was extended. The UV-Vis spectroscopic studies show a change in the band gap when the reaction time is changed. The morphology analysis shows that the image revealed that the particles formed were agglomerated and formed a spherical shape, with diameters ranging between 35 and 86 nm. When tested for photocatalytic activity, the La2O3 nanoparticles show a degradation of methylene blue dye when the time varies. Remarkably, the nanoparticles synthesized exhibited a profound ability to degrade the dye, with an efficiency rate hitting as high as 89% under halogen light illumination.
Keywords: hydrothermal synthesis; lanthanum oxide; nanoparticles; photocatalytic performance.
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