Synthesize and study of structural, optical, scintillation, photocatalytic and antibacterial properties of PbWO4 nanoparticles

In this study, PbWO4 nanopowders were prepared by a simple and cost-effective co-precipitation method. The prepared nanoparticles' structural, optical, scintillation, photocatalyst, and antibacterial properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the structure was successfully synthesized and assigned to the Scheelite phase with the tetragonal structure of PbWO4. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that the prepared particle's size is ~80 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy Dispersion X-Ray (EDX) confirmed the strong bonds of related elements and the presence of Pb, W, and O elements in the structure. Luminescence studies under ion beam and ultraviolet radiation showed that the prepared nanoparticles have strong blue-green scintillation sensitivity at room temperature. The photocatalytic performance was studied using the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under UVA light irradiation. It was observed that the prepared nanopowder has 95.6% decolorization properties in 60 minutes under light irradiation. The physical and scintillation characteristics obtained from the synthesized nanopowders show that these nanomaterials can be used in optical applications, industrial wastewater treatment, and ionizing radiation detectors.