Exploring the Influence of Synthesis Parameters on the Optical Properties for Various CeO₂ NPs

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Solid State Chemistry

Background:

• Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles are crucial in various applications.
• Tuning the band gap energy of CeO2 is essential for optimizing its properties.
• Controlling nanoparticle morphology and size impacts performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles with controlled band gap energies.
• To investigate the effect of synthesis parameters (pH, time) and cobalt (Co) doping on CeO2 properties.
• To explore the potential of modified CeO2 for photocatalytic applications.

Main Methods:

• Chemical precipitation method using cerium nitrate hexahydrate.
• Modification of solution pH and reaction time.
• Cobalt (Co) doping to tune band gap energy.
• Characterization using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence.

Main Results:

• Synthesized pure cubic fluorite CeO2 nanoparticles with crystallite sizes between 11.24 and 21.65 nm.
• Observed various nanoparticle morphologies including spherical, cubic, rhomboidal, triangular, and polyhedral.
• Achieved band gap energy values between 3.18 eV and 2.85 eV by modifying synthesis parameters.
• Reduced band gap energy to approximately 2.0 eV upon cobalt (Co) doping.

Conclusions:

• Synthesis parameters and Co doping effectively tune the band gap energy of CeO2 nanoparticles.
• Achieved band gaps below 3.0 eV and significantly reduced to 2.0 eV with Co doping.
• The results indicate promising potential for CeO2 nanoparticles in future photocatalytic applications.