Samarium Concentration Research Articles

Rare earth samarium substituted barium-calcium hexaferrites: Insight into structure, dielectric and magnetic aspects

This study presents the synthesis of samarium-substituted Ba-Ca hexaferrites (Ba0.5Ca0.5Fe12-xSmxO19) utilizing the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis is performed to evaluate the structure of fabricated materials. The lattice shows an expansion up to a doping concentration of x = 0.12, and minor contraction at x = 0.16. Both X-ray density and bulk density exhibit an upward trend with increasing doping levels, while porosity reduces and dislocation density shows an increase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms the homogeneity and uniformity of the doped samples. The dielectric properties displays the interaction of the materials with an external electric field, revealing that the dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (ε″), and dissipation factor progressively increases with samarium concentration. Magnetic characterizations demonstrate a significant enhancement in saturation magnetization and coercivity, attaining peak values of 33.19 emu/g and 1.805 kOe, respectively. Moreover, the anisotropy field (Ha) and anisotropy constant (K) shows an increase with higher doping concentrations confirming the prepared material as an alternative for electric and magnetic industry applications.

Synergistic effect of samarium and PVP doped MgO nanostructures for RhB degradation and inhibition of DNA gyrase with molecular docking studies

Various concentrations (2 and 4 wt%) of Samarium (Sm3+) with a fixed amount (3 wt%) of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) doped magnesium oxide (MgO) nanostructures (NSs) were synthesized via facile co-precipitation route. Trivalent dopant (Sm3+) and PVP narrowed the effective band gap of MgO and, controlled the recombination dynamics of the electron-hole pair and stabilized the nanostructures. This innovative treatment aimed to harness the potential ability of MgO to target bacterial cells and eliminate notorious dyes from wastewater. Advanced analytical (EDS and elemental mapping), crystallographic (XRD, SAED, FESEM, TEM and HR-TEM), and optical (UV–Vis and Raman) techniques were operated to probe their exclusive properties. The Sm/PVP-doped MgO displayed a pronounced catalytic activity against RhB dye in an acidic medium (96.42 %). Moreover, antibacterial activity was investigated using an agar well diffusion approach. At a high dosage, the % efficacy of pure and doped nanostructures against MDR S. aureus was 55.05, 65.64, 30.06 and 46.01, respectively. In silico docking investigation indicated that Sm/PVP-doped MgO NSs could inhibit DNA gyrase enzyme in S. aureus.

Development and analysis of novel Sm doped LaSiO for photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical sensing of heavy metals

This study explores the synthesis of La10Si6O27:Sm3+ nanoparticles (LSNP) with varying samarium (Sm3+) concentrations (0–8 mol%) using eco-friendly solution combustion method with urea as a fuel. Using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), we determined that the nanoparticles typically measure between 15 and 17 nm and display a spherical morphology. These rare earth (RE)-doped nanoparticles were employed as a novel photocatalyst for the degradation of malachite green (MG) dye, exhibit unprecedented photocatalytic efficiency. The release of OH radicals during the degradation process was found to vary with the chemical structure and concentration of the photocatalyst, with the 6 mol% LSNP formulation showing a significant advancement under both UV and sunlight. Electrochemical assessments revealed that these nanoparticles exhibit excellent cyclic stability and robust performance. Notably, the specific capacitance of the nanoparticles increased with the samarium concentration, reaching a peak of 261.3 F/g in 0.1 M HCl. Furthermore, graphite-modified electrodes incorporating these nanoparticles showed significant potential as sensitive materials for detecting mercury and lead in concentrations as low as 1–6 mM, underscoring the versatility and functional adaptability of the synthesized nanoparticles in environmental and electrochemical applications. The prepared La10Si6O27:Sm3+ nanoparticles The nanoparticles demonstrated an optimal photocatalytic efficiency of 95.5 % under UV light and 88.15 % under sunlight at 6 mol% Sm3+ doping. Additionally, a peak specific capacitance of 261.3 F/g was achieved in 0.1 M HCl.

Exploring the structural, optical, dielectric and magnetic properties of rare earth samarium doped Ca-Mg based Ca0.5Mg0.5Fe12−xSmxO19 ferrite nanoparticles

The emergence of M-type hexaferrite presents an encouraging alternative to rare earth magnets, due to its economic feasibility and outstanding magnetic properties. This makes it a viable option for applications in the electric automotive and magnetic industry applications. In this study, we utilized a sol–gel auto-combustion technique to synthesize a series of samarium (Sm) doped calcium-magnesium (Ca-Mg) hexaferrite samples having chemical formula Ca0.5Mg0.5Fe12−xSmxO19 (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20). The XRD analysis confirmed the crystal structure of the synthesized materials, revealing a consistent magneto-plumbite phase across all samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations further confirmed the homogeneous distribution and agglomeration of nanostructures. FTIR analysis identified the presence of two primary absorption bands in Ca-Mg hexaferrites with both bands exhibiting a shift towards lower frequency ranges with increasing doping levels. The dielectric loss (ε″) and dielectric constant (ε′) were higher at lower frequencies but decreased as the frequency increased. Additionally, higher concentrations of samarium resulted in further reductions in both dielectric loss (ε″) and dielectric constant (ε′). Notably, saturation magnetization (Ms) and remanence (Mr) values demonstrated an increasing trend with higher degrees of Sm+3 substitution, while coercivity (Hc) values exhibited relative stability. Our findings indicate that these materials possess promising magnetic parameters falling within the ranges of 31.52–37.77 emu·g−1 for Ms, 18.16–21.53 emu·g−1 for Mr, and 2.088–2.243 kOe for Hc, suggesting their potential utility across diverse applications including permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors, storage devices, microwave components, and electromagnetic radiation absorbers.

Improving the reactor safety aspects by the implementation of (Th-U233-Pu) fuel in a PWR assembly

The aim of this work is not only to demonstrate how to introduce thorium as an alternative nuclear fuel into pressurized water reactors, but also to examine the several advantages that (Th, U233, Pu) has over (Th, U233) and (Th, Pu) fuels when (U233O2) is mixed with (Th-Pu)O2 fuel. To investigate these advantages, three thorium fuels, (Th, U233), (Th-U233-Pu) and (Th-Pu) are simulated and analyzed by the MCNPX 2.7 code. The reactor safety aspects of these fuels are compared with those of the reference UO2 fuel. The concentration of Th-233 and fissile isotopes is adjusted to obtain criticality (Keff = 1.03) at the same burnup value (35 GWd/tonne) for all fuel types. Based on the predicted results, the author revealed that: 1) 56 % of plutonium (238-242) is depleted in the case of (Th-U233-Pu), while 41 % of plutonium is depleted in the (Th-Pu) at 60 GWd/tonne. This result indicates that (Th-U233-Pu) is more proliferation-resistant than (Th-Pu). 2) In terms of improving the quantity of radioactive waste, (Th, U233, Pu) model produces 0.6 and 0.9 times the amount of Am (241-243) and Cm (242-244) in UO2, respectively. On the other hand, (Th, Pu) fuel produces about 7 times the amount of Am and 8 times the amount of Cm in UO2 fuel. 3) The fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) and moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) of (Th-U233-Pu) are more negative than that of UO2 and (Th-U233) at the early stages of fuel burnup (0–5) GWd/tonne.4) the total mass of fissile isotopes in (Th-U233-Pu) is greater than that of UO2 and (Th-U233) and as a result, the fuel life time is longer in the case of (Th-U233-Pu). 4) The conversion ratio provided by (Th-U233-Pu) is greater than that provided by UO2 and (Th-U233).This behavior is expected owing to the hardening of neutron spectrum in (Th-U233-Pu). 5) The peaking factors are lower in the case of (Th-U233-Pu) compared to (Th-Pu). 6) The concentration of xenon and samarium is noticeably lower for (Th-U233-Pu) in comparison with (Th-Pu) and consequently, the time required for restarting the reactor is accelerated.

Catalytic action and bactericidal behavior of samarium/carbon spheres-doped manganese oxide nanostructures and their molecular docking analysis

The co-precipitation technique was adapted to synthesize different concentrations (2 % and 4 %) of samarium (Sm) doped constant equates of carbon spheres (Cs) and manganese oxide (MnO2). The principal objective of this investigation is to demonstrate confirmation that Sm/Cs-doped MnO2 nanostructures (NSs) owned antibacterial and catalytic attributes. Reduction in surface area manifested to agglomeration, NSs faces become inaccessible to initiate a reaction, can be overcome upon doping of Sm. Sm has the potential to increase the activity of metal oxide ascribed to its electron trapping effect. The structural morphologies, optical properties, functional groups, elemental composition, and d-spacing were determined by applying various characterizations. With the incorporation of CS and Sm, UV–vis spectra shifted towards lower wavelength and band gap energy (Eg) was reduced. MnO2 possessed orthorhombic structure, according to the XRD pattern and TEM exhibited long Burr-like morphology of undoped MnO2. SAED image illustrated that MnO2 is polycrystalline. 4 % Sm/CS doped MnO2 revealed the highest degradation (91 %) in a neutral environment. Furthermore, 4 % Sm/Cs doped-MnO2 revealed an inhibitory zone of 2.85 mm against Escherichia coli (E. coli). Additionally, an analysis of molecular docking revealed a binding interface with NRs and the functional domains of certain cellular proteins. Results indicated that Cs-doped MnO2 and Cs/Sm-doped MnO2 NRs are the most potent DNA gyrase and FabB enzyme inhibitors.

Tailored spectroscopic characteristics of a new type of CuO nanoparticles-inserted borate glass system: Samarium concentration tuning effect

The demand for new glass hosts with emergent properties is constantly growing for various miniaturized applications. Thus, some new types of Sm2O3-activated strontium-telluro-alumino-magnesium-borate glasses with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONps) insertion were made using melt-quenching approach. The obtained glasses were characterized to determine the effects of Sm2O3 concentration changes on their thermal, structural, and luminescence properties. XRD, FTIR, and HRTEM analyses of the samples verified their glassy nature, presence of different functional units and CuONps, respectively. DTA analysis showed excellent thermal stability of these glasses with a stability factor as much as 125 °C. The optical absorption properties of the glasses were highly sensitive to Sm3+ concentrations variation. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters of the glasses with and without CuONps followed the trend of Ω6˃Ω4˃Ω2 and Ω4˃Ω6˃Ω2, respectively. These glasses displayed 4 visible luminescence bands at 561, 598, 645, and 705 nm corresponding to 4G5/2 → 6H5/2, 4G5/2 → 6H7/2, 4G5/2 → 6H9/2, and 4G5/2 → 6H11/2 transitions in Sm3+. In addition, branching ratio above 80% and stimulated emission cross-section up to 135.82 × 10−23 cm2 were achieved. The stimulated emission cross-section and optical gain were enhanced due to the inclusion of CuONps in the glasses. These glasses may be useful for solid state laser and optical amplifier development.

Physical and electrical properties of Sm2O3 doped Boro-Zinc-Vanadate glasses

Sm2O3 doped boro-zinc-vanadate glass systems were synthesised by following the melt quenching method. XRD patterns indicated largely non-crystalline nature with few nano-crystallites. Room temperature density was measured. Molar volume and various polaron parameters were estimated. Density and molar volume are found to vary non-linearly with samarium concentration. Conductivity has been measured by two probe technique for temperature range 303K - 573K. High temperature conductivity obeyed the small polaron hopping (SPH) theory. Activation energy for conduction in the temperature regime of small polaron theory is found to vary from 0.249 eV to 0.368 eV non-linearly with Sm2O3 concentration. The conductivity data at low temperature deviated has been looked into using Mott’s VRH model and the density of states at Fermi level were determined. Shimakawa’s multiphonon tunnelling model has also been applied to the low temperature conductivity and found linearity between logarithmic conductivity, ln(σ) and logarithmic temperature ln(T) as predicted by the model. The temperature exponent values obtained from Shimakawa’s model fit are found to be in good agreement with literature. Therefore, it is concluded that at low temperature, carrier multiphonon tunnelling is the charge transport mechanism in the present glasses.

Multifunctional Al2O3:Eu2+/Sm2+,3+ + Y2O3:Eu3+ Coatings Created by the Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation

AbstractThe industrial applications of luminescent coatings for temperature sensing and high‐security QR codes have multiple inherent problems in their application (speed, cost, industrial feasibility) or properties (poor adhesion, chemical, thermal stability, or thermal contact). Luminescent coatings created by the electrochemical Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) process have superior properties and can be grown directly within minutes, but are limited to the number of possible luminescent dopants. Having the unlimited possibility for doping on the PEO coatings would provide for superior coatings in all industrially appealing features. Herein, it is shown that adding any luminescent powder results in its partial dissociation and incorporation of its constituents, while it also gets incorporated as a whole. In this manner, alumina coatings are grown with various combinations and concentrations of divalent samarium and europium, and yttrium oxide with trivalent europium ions. These polycrystalline coatings whose microhardness is next to that of the diamond produce intense luminescence in the blue and red regions. Al2O3:Eu2+/Sm2+/3+ + Y2O3:Eu3+ coatings show an excellent temperature sensing performance from the cryogenic up to the high temperatures. Ultimately, the proof‐of‐concept of the luminescent QR code by the electrochemical process is realized creating a highly secure code with unprecedented environmental stability.

Tuneable blue-green co-activated CaAl2O4: 0.1 mol% Tb3+, x mol% Sm3+ (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) nanophosphor prepared by citrate sol-gel method

This study reports the analysis of tuneable blue-green phosphor of calcium aluminate (CaAl2O4) co-doped with terbium (Tb3+) and varying concentration of samarium (Sm3+) (0 ≤ x ≤ 2). The powder samples were synthesized by using the citrate sol-gel method and annealed at 900 °C for 2 h (h) for all samples. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) results revealed a developing amorphous monoclinic structure of CaAl2O4. Co-doping with Tb3+ and Sm3+ slightly affected the structure of synthesized CaAl2O4. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results showed that co-doping the host material of CaAl2O4 slightly affected the morphology of the synthesized nanopowders. The transition electron microscope (TEM) images showed that the particle sizes of the host material were affected by doping. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) reflection spectroscopy suggested that the band gap of co-doped CaAl2O4:0.1 mol% Tb3+, x% Sm3+ (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) ranges between 5.05 and 5.20 eV. The photoluminescence (PL) results showed several emission peaks located at 420, 440, 484, 548, 558, 562, 584, 603 and 654 nm. Emission peaks at 420, 440, 484 and 558 nm were attributed to the host material. The peaks at 548 and 558 nm are originating from 5D4→7F6 and 5D4→7F5 transitions of Tb3+ while the peaks at 562, 603 and 654 nm seems to be originating from the dopant of Sm3+ which may be assigned to 4G5/2 → 6H5/2, 4G5/2 → 6H7/2, and 4G5/2 → 6H9/2 transitions of Sm3+, respectively. CIE coordinates results suggested that the emission colour can be tuned from bluish to greenish as x% Sm3+ concentration is varied.

ESO-based adaptive event-triggered load following control design for a pressurized water reactor with samarium–promethium dynamics

Conventional control systems used in nuclear reactors rely on real-time information transmission between the controllers and the actuators, which is unnecessary and imposes a heavy communication burden. To this end, this paper proposes an extended state observer-based adaptive event-triggered control (ESO-AETC) scheme for the load following problem of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) in the presence of uncertainties and limited communication resources. Different from most of the previous controllers presented in the literature, the samarium–promethium dynamics are considered in the constructed PWR model in this paper. Based on the PWR model with the load-dependent parameters and the samarium–promethium dynamics, an ESO, which can estimate lumped uncertainties and unmeasured system states including the relative density of the delayed neutron precursor, the average fuel temperature, the xenon concentration, the iodine concentration, the samarium concentration, the promethium concentration, and the total reactivity, is designed. With the help of the ESO and the event-triggered techniques, an AETC scheme is developed to avoid the real-time communication in the controller-to-actuator channel of the PWR system. It is rigorously proved that the control error can converge to any prescribed residual set in a finite time according to Lyapunov stability theory, excluding the Zeno behavior. Finally, simulation studies involving comparisons with existing works, estimation performance verification, and sensitivity analysis are conducted to assess the proposed ESO-AETC scheme. Simulation results reveal that (1) relative to the pre-existing model-free controller (MFC) and the disturbance observer-based sliding mode controller (DO-SMC), the proposed ESO-AETC scheme is found to provide better load following performance with at least 56.12% lower maximum absolute error (MAE), at least 15.05% lower integral absolute error (IAE), and 87.58% reduced communication resources in the controller-to-actuator channel, (2) the ESO possesses strong estimation capability for system states and lumped uncertainties, and (3) the proposed ESO-AETC scheme yields a low sensitivity with respect to the change of the controller parameters.

Making Eu2+- and Sm2+-Doped Borates Fit for Solar Energy Applications

Despite the development of many luminescent materials for various applications, only a few of these phosphors are applicable for solar energy generation applications. This study used the conventional solid-state reaction method to synthesize different strontium borate compounds codoped with divalent europium and samarium ions. The material was optimized by varying the experimental procedure, the molar ratio of the boron, and the molar ratios of both codopants. Strontium hexaborate doped with a relatively high europium concentration and a low samarium concentration (Sr0.89B6O10:Eu0.1, Sm0.01) gave the optimum optical properties. These properties included a broad excitation range from 220 to 600 nm containing contributions from divalent europium and samarium ions. The material exhibited strong and narrow emission in the region from 650 to 850 nm following radiative transitions within the divalent samarium ions. The internal luminescence quantum efficiency of the optimized material was 79% (λex = 508.5 nm). There was no spectral overlap between the excitation and emission spectra, thereby reducing the reabsorption probability. These marked characteristics make this phosphor material appropriate for use as a solar radiation converter or for use in luminescent solar concentrators.

Photoluminescence and X‐Ray‐Induced Luminescence Behavior of Sm2O3‐Doped Oxyfluoroborate Scintillating Glass for Radiation Detecting Material

Various concentrations of samarium (Sm3+) ion‐activated oxyfluoroborate (ANCB:AlF3‐NaF‐CaF2‐B2O3) glasses are fabricated for its applications in red‐emitting lasers and scintillators. From the optical absorption spectrum, Ω2,4,6 intensity parameters and several radiative parameters along with the high value of absorption (2.96 × 10−21 cm2) and emission (14.13 × 10−22 cm2) cross sections are calculated. By stimulating at 403 nm, a transition corresponding to 4G5/2 → 6H7/2 (596 nm) is very intense and emits orange‐reddish luminescence of Sm3+ ion in ANCB glasses. The decay curves are fit to the Inokuti–Hirayama (I–H) model to determine the energy transfer in Sm3+: ANCB glasses. The X‐ray‐excited luminescence (XEL) spectra are determined with an X‐ray source by supplying the voltage of 50 kV and current 30 mA. The lasing parameters like stimulated emission cross section (14.13 × 10−22 cm2), optical gain (30.52 × 10−22 cm2 s), and quantum efficiency (80%) are found to be high for the 4G5/2 → 6H9/2 transition of Sm3+ ions. The quality of the emitted red light for the ANCBSm0.5 glass is calculated in terms of the (x, y) color coordinates and correlated color temperatures (CCT < 3000 K). The integral scintillation efficiency of glasses shows the maximum value of 23% in comparison with Bi4Ge3O12 scintillation crystal.

Optical, Photo, and X‐Ray Luminescence Properties of Samarium Ions Doped with Borophosphate Glasses

The optical, photo, and X‐ray luminescence properties of Sm3+ ion‐doped Li2O–Al2O3–Gd2O3–B2O3–P2O5 glasses are evaluated. The glasses are fabricated by the melt quenching technique. The absorption spectra exhibit the hypersensitive transitions 6H5/2→6P3/2 and 6H5/2→6F7/2 at the visible and near‐infrared range respectively. The glasses display four major transitions characteristic of Sm3+ ion for photoluminescence and X‐ray luminescence, with the most intense one corresponding to the 4G5/2→6H7/2 transition. The best emitting samarium concentration obtained by X‐ray excitation is compared to BGO crystals. The integral scintillation efficiency of glass is determined by total area under all of peak spectrum. The results indicate the promising application of these glasses in scintillators and for X‐ray sensing devices.

Comparison of methods for calculating the neutronic characteristics of a VVER-1200 fuel assembly

This article presents the results of neutronic calculations of a VVER-1200 fuel assembly carried out using the multi-purpose three-dimensional continuous-energy Monte Carlo particle transport code Serpent 2. The study compares neutronic characteristics during the fuel burnup process (1) with and (2) without fuel cooling. In the first option, the FA fuel campaign was simulated with 30-day cooling periods between reactor campaigns. The second option assumed simulating the FA fuel campaign without fuel cooling. In the course of the study, the authors determined the infinite neutron multiplication factors as well as the fuel burnup dependence of the concentrations of xenon, samarium and gadolinium nuclides. In addition, it should be noted that no differences were found in the change in the concentration of gadolinium isotopes, the discrepancy in the values of the multiplication factor, and the accumulation of samarium isotopes during the campaign.

Samarium doped yttrium zirconate transparent ceramics for highly transparent reddish-orange light emitting applications

Via solid state reaction, Sm3+ doped Y2Zr2O7 transparent ceramics with different samarium concentration were successfully prepared. Highest in-line transmittance of samples reaches over 75% both in visible and infrared region. The homogeneity and microstructure of powders and ceramics were investigated through XRD and SEM characterizations. The luminescence results show that under the excitation of ultraviolet (UV) and blue light source, strong red emission peaks were observed and corresponding energy-conversion mechanism were applied to explain the transition rules. Combined with the excellent optical properties and high temperature resistance, these results suggest that Sm3+ doped Y2Zr2O7 (YZO) transparent ceramics are promising novel red LED material for application such as illumination, digital display, etc.

Radioluminescence and photoluminescence properties of Sm3+ doped gadolinium aluminum sodium phosphate oxyfluoride scintillating glass

The Sm3+ doped gadolinium aluminum sodium phosphate oxyfluoride glass with orange light emitting were prepare by melt-quenching technique. In this work, physical, optical, photoluminescence, and radioluminescence properties of phosphate oxyfluoride glasses have been investigated. The absorption result, the glass absorbs more photon in visible light and NIR regions with increases Sm2O3 concentrations. For photoluminescence, the highest emission around 598 nm of Sm3+ was generated under excitation at 401 nm. The emissions intensity of Sm3+ increase with increasing samarium concentrations up to 1 mol%, whilst decay time decrease with an increase of Sm2O3 contents. The radioluminescence emissions spectra correspond to the photoluminescence measurement. From radioluminescence measurements, the integral scintillations efficiency of developed glasses was determined at 12% when compared with BGO crystal. The CIE 1931 chromaticity investigation shows that Sm3+ doped glasses emitted light with orange color. The Judd-Ofelt Ωλ (λ = 2, 4 and 6) parameters were calculate to explore the nature of environment surrounding Sm3+ ions. The properties evaluated in the present work indicate that these glasses can be developed for X-rays detection material, photonics, and orange fluorescence.

Effect of Sm3+ substitution on dc electrical resistivity and magnetic properties of Ni–Co ferrites

Sm3+ substituted Ni–Co ferrite materials have been developed with the chemical compositions Ni0.5Co0.5Fe2-xSmxO4 for x = 0.0, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 by solid-state method. A spinel with a single-phase cubic structure was found through XRD analysis. Crystallite size and lattice parameter fluctuation with Samarium content, decreasing with Sm3+ doping. When Sm3+ is doped, SEM shows a uniform distribution of grains with increasing agglomeration, and the grain size decreases with samarium concentration. Two peaks of absorption mode FTIR spectra show their spinel nature. The samples' negative temperature coefficient measured by the two probe method indicates their semiconducting nature. The DC electrical resistivity of the Ni–Co ferrite system was found to increase from 5.99 × 103 (Ω-cm) to 9.89 × 109 (Ω-cm) as an increase in Sm concentration. VSM measurement gives the saturation magnetization for the concentration up to x = 0.04 decreased and then increased for x = 0.06. All these properties show our samples' higher applicability in various electronic devices.

Facile synthesis of Sm doped ZnO nanoflowers by Co-precipitation method for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of MB dye under sunlight irradiation

Rare earth (RE) metal doping into the metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) is considered an effective way to boost photocatalytic performance for its capability to decelerate the electron-hole pair recombination upon excitation. In the current work, Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflowers were synthesized via facile co-precipitation method with varying concentrations of samarium (Sm) ions. Several techniques were used to analyze the structural, morphological, optical, and elemental composition properties of the prepared photocatalyst. FE-SEM studies revealed the nanoflower-like morphology, whereas the structural properties confirm the wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO which is identified by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. Additionally, the observed shift in XRD planes toward lower theta values justifies the incorporation of Sm3+ ions into the Zinc Oxide lattice. The photo induced activity of Sm doped ZnO nanoflowers was studied by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under sunlight irradiation, especially 5% Sm-ZnO shows the highest degradation efficiency with 96% within 90 min. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism and scavenger test towards MB using Sm doped ZnO NFs have also been discussed.

Hydrothermally synthesized hierarchical Ce1-xSmxO2-δ oxides for additive manufacturing of planar solid electrolytes

This paper studies the hydrothermal synthesis of Ce1-xSmxO2-δ (x = 0.20, 0.25 and 0.30) oxides in the form of hierarchically structured nanopowders (the crystallite size was 9–11 nm). The thermal behaviour of cerium and samarium hydroxocarbonates, formed as intermediate products, was studied using synchronous TGA/DSC/DTA analysis; and with the help of an X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and infrared spectroscopy, their transformation process, which resulted in the formation of target oxides, was evaluated. It was shown that an increase in the samarium concentration leads to a change in the type of microstructure from nanorods to microspheres partially or fully covered by nanosheets. The influence of the particle size and shape of the nanopowders obtained on the microstructure of the coatings (porosity, degree of roughness, and height difference), formed using microextrusion printing, were investigated by atomic force (AFM) and scanning electron (SEM) microscopy. The electrophysical properties of the oxide coating surface were evaluated using specialized semi-contact AFM techniques. The use of impedance spectroscopy made it possible to evaluate the effect of dopant concentration on the electrical conductivity of hierarchically organized solid electrolytes, and to show that microextrusion printing can be effectively used in the additive creation of planar components for alternative energy devices.