Preparation and characterization of nanoparticulate NbO2F by hydrothermal process

Using Nb2O5, HF and polyvinyl alcohol as major materials, the nanoparticulate NbO2F was successfully prepared by hydrothermal method. The prepared samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), and UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The photocatalytic activity of nanoparticulate NbO2F was investigated in experimental simulation wastewater containing 20 mg/L methyl orange. The results show that nanoparticulate NbO2F sample is cubic structure with about 50–80 nm average crystal grain. The optical absorption edge of NbO2F is 370 nm which corresponds to the band gap of 3.35eV. The photocatalytic experiment demonstrated that nanoparticulate NbO2F show highly photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange.