Advanced characterization of precipitation synthesized ceria and ceria-zirconia hybrid nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, the cerium oxide (CeO2) and ceria-zirconia (Ce–Zr, hybrid) nanoparticles were synthesized using distinct chemical formulation routines. The approach chosen was the precipitation method (PM), a bottom-up methodology for the development of the various nano-compounds. Cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate got utilized as the primary precursor. Isopropanol and zirconium oxychloride were added as reagents to synthesize CeO2 and Ce–Zr (hybrid) nanoparticles, respectively. The high-end characterization technologies were employed to investigate the comprehensive physical and chemical states of the distinct nanoparticles. It includes high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), x-ray diffractogram spectroscopy (XRD), and zeta potential (ZP) analyses. Surfactant modification using polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (tween 20, C26H50O50) was also performed to evaluate their respective dispersion stabilities, in comparison to the bare forms. The Ce–Zr (hybrid) nanoparticles demonstrated superior characteristics in terms of morphology and stability, in which the hybridization using zirconia is confirmed to have contributed a significant role.