Single crystals of new polyoxometalate based ionic crystal [Fe(phen)3]2[SiW12O40]·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.
Keywords: 2,4-Dichlorophenol; Ionic crystal; Photodegradation; Polyoxometalate; Sonochemical synthesis; Visible light.
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