Influences of Annealing Temperature and Doping Concentration on Microstructural and Optical Properties of CeO2：Sm3＋ Nanocrystals

• Published in: Acta metallurgica sinica : English letters 2015-06, Vol.28 (6), p.758-765
• Main Authors: Vimal, G., Mani, Kamal P., Biju, P. R., Joseph, Cyriac, Unnikrishnan, N. V., Ittyachen, M. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Annealing; Aqueous solutions; Bulk density; Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Charge transfer; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corrosion and Coatings; Crystal lattices; Crystal structure; Dielectric properties; Doping; Electron microscopy; Emission; Excitation spectra; Lattice parameters; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Microparticles; Microwaves; Morphology; Nanocrystals; Nanoparticles; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Nitrates; Optical properties; Organometallic Chemistry; Particle size; Photoluminescence; Physical properties; Solid oxide fuel cells; Spectroscopy/Spectrometry; Symmetry; Temperature; Thermal decomposition; Tribology; X-ray diffraction; X射线衍射分析; Zinc oxides; 光学性质; 光致发光激发光谱; 微观结构; 掺杂浓度; 氧化铈; 纳米晶体; 退火温度
• ISSN: 1006-7191; 2194-1289
• DOI: 10.1007/s40195-015-0258-0

Nanocrystals of CeO2 with different doping concentrations of Sm3＋ were synthesized by a novel and cost- effective method. The crystal structure, morphology and particle size were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Effects of the annealing temperature and doping concentrations on the microstructural properties of the crystals were studied. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the cubic structure of the CeO2 is not affected by the doping of Sm3＋ up to a doping concentration of 20%. Different structural parameters such as lattice constant, surface area, bulk density and porosity of the crystal were determined and discussed. Microscopic images of the CeO2：Sm3＋ suggest that the thermal decomposition of oxalate precursor is a suitable synthesis pathway to produce uniform-sized microparticles and nanoparticles. The influences of annealing temPerature and doping concentration of Sm3＋ on the optical properties of the nanocrystals were also discussed. The photoluminescence excitation spectra reveal that the charge transfer band is redshifted with increasing annealing temperatures. Emission attains its maximum intensity for Sm3＋ concentration of 1%, and higher concentrations lead to emission quenching.