Sonochemical synthesis of polyoxometalate based of ionic crystal nanostructure: A photocatalyst for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol.

Single crystals of new polyoxometalate based ionic crystal [Fe(phen) 3 ] 2 [SiW 12 O 40 ]·3DMF ( IC-Fe ), (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, DMF = N,N -dimethylformamide) and their nanoparticles ( IC-Fe-NPs ) have been synthesized via self-assembly of constituent ions and sonochemical reaction, respectively. All materials have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal gravimetric (TG), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), FT-IR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. Effect of sonication conditions on size and morphology of IC-Fe was investigated including time, concentrations of initial reagents and power of irradiation. Further studies have shown that IC-Fe is not only active in photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol under visible light irradiation, but also is very stable in the various solvents and it can be easily separated and reused for cycles of reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]