Abstract
Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles were prepared by the precipitation method. The average crystallite size of cerium oxide nanoparticles was calculated from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and found to be 11 nm. The FT-IR spectrum clearly indicated the strong presence of cerium oxide nanoparticles. Raman spectrum confirmed the cubic nature of the cerium oxide nanoparticles. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the nanoparticles agglomerated forming spherical-shaped particles. The Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) analysis confirmed the prepared cerium oxide nanoparticles with the particle size being found to be 16 nm. The optical absorption spectrum showed a blue shift by the cerium oxide nanoparticles due to the quantum confinement effect. The dielectric properties of cerium oxide nanoparticles were studied for different frequencies at different temperatures. The dielectric constant and the dielectric loss of the cerium oxide nanoparticles decreased with increase in frequency. The AC electrical conductivity study revealed that the conduction depended on both the frequency and the temperature.
Highlights
Nanoscience deals with matter at nanoscale dimension, typically in the size range between 1 nm and 100 nm
Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles were prepared by the precipitation method using cerium sulfate (Ce2(SO4)2 ), oxalic acid (H2C2O4)
0.9λ β cosθ where λ is the X-ray wavelength, θ is the Bragg diffraction angle, and β is the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak appearing at the diffraction angle θ
Summary
Nanoscience deals with matter at nanoscale dimension, typically in the size range between 1 nm and 100 nm. Unique phenomena/novel properties that are found in materials at the nanoscale enable nanotechnology to be applied in various fields and form a solid basis towards technological breakthrough. Such properties are not observed at the atomic/molecular scale or at the bulk scale, making nanotechnology an emerging technology of the 21st century. The surface to volume ratio is much higher in nanoparticles compared with their respective bulk materials. Cerium oxide (CeO2) is a semiconductor with wide band gap energy (3.19eV). The cerium oxide nanoparticles are prepared by various methods . 8-12 This paper deals with the preparation of cerium oxide nanoparticles using the precipitation method.
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