Simple sonochemical synthesis of HoO-SiO nanocomposites as an effective photocatalyst for degradation and removal of organic contaminant.

In this work, highly photocatalytically active HoO-SiO nanocomposites have been designed and applied for decomposition of methylene blue pollutant. HoO-SiO nanocomposites have been produced by new, quick and facile sonochemical process with the aid of tetramethylethylenediamine as a novel basic agent for the first time. The effect of the kind of basic agent, ultrasonic time and dosage of Ho source on the grain size, photocatalytic behavior and shape of the HoO-SiO nanocomposites have been evaluated for optimization the production condition. FESEM, EDX, FT-IR, DRS, XRD and TEM have been applied to characterize the as-produced HoO-SiO nanocomposites. Use of the as-produced HoO-SiO nanocomposites as photocatalyst via destruction of methylene blue pollutant under UV illumination has been compared. It was observed that SiO has notable impact on catalytic activity of holmium oxide photocatalyst for destruction. Introducing of SiO to holmium oxide can enhance destruction efficiency of holmium oxide to methylene blue pollutant under ultraviolet light.