Abstract
In the present work, a thermal treatment technique is applied for the synthesis of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. Using this method has developed understanding of how lower and higher precursor values affect the morphology, structure, and optical properties of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticle synthesis involves a reaction between cerium and tin sources, namely, cerium nitrate hexahydrate and tin (II) chloride dihydrate, respectively, and the capping agent, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The findings indicate that lower x values yield smaller particle size with a higher energy band gap, while higher x values yield a larger particle size with a smaller energy band gap. Thus, products with lower x values may be suitable for antibacterial activity applications as smaller particles can diffuse through the cell wall faster, while products with higher x values may be suitable for solar cell energy applications as more electrons can be generated at larger particle sizes. The synthesized samples were profiled via a number of methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). As revealed by the XRD pattern analysis, the CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles formed after calcination reflect the cubic fluorite structure and cassiterite-type tetragonal structure of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. Meanwhile, using FT-IR analysis, Ce-O and Sn-O were confirmed as the primary bonds of ready CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticle samples, whilst TEM analysis highlighted that the average particle size was in the range 6−21 nm as the precursor concentration (Ce(NO3)3·6H2O) increased from 0.00 to 1.00. Moreover, the diffuse UV-visible reflectance spectra used to determine the optical band gap based on the Kubelka–Munk equation showed that an increase in x value has caused a decrease in the energy band gap and vice versa.
Highlights
Nanomaterials have been the focus of extensive research studies, with their unique physiochemical properties attracting particular attention [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 2143Figure 1a presents the chemical structure of the amphiphilic PVP, in which the head of 14 group is the pyrrolidone part while the tail group is the polyvinyl part4 (hygroup is the pyrrolidone part while the tail group is the polyvinyl part; when the PVP molecules are in an aqueous solution, the structure drophobic); when the PVP molecules are in an aqueous solution, the structure may transform to a resonance structure as illustrated in Figure 1b [46]
The results in have this paper have proven that calcination is an effective nique for thefor synthesis of CexSn
Summary
Nanomaterials have been the focus of extensive research studies, with their unique physiochemical properties attracting particular attention [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Semiconductors nanomaterials [4,13,14] Both group II and group IV elements are included in the CeO2 cubic fluorite structure, since it is classified as II-IV composite semiconductor [14]. There are various applications intended to exploit the singular structural features of nanomaterials on the basis of the useful chemical and physical properties [15]. It has a notable structure with a cubic fluorite structure crystalline, along with energy band gaps amounting to 3.0–3.6 eV [16]. CeO2 semiconductor nanostructures have wide applications, such as in photovoltaic and solar cells [17,18]. CeO2 nanostructures have been prepared in different shapes, such as nanoparticles [16], nanocrystals [20], nanoclusters [21], nanowires [22], nanotubes [23], and nanoflowers
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