Combustion Synthesis, Structural and Optical Properties of Nd-Doped Ceria Nanoparticles

摘要

A solution combustion approach was used in the preparation of nanosize Ce_(0.9)Nd_(0.1)O_(1.95) using mixture of citric acid as a fuel with corresponding metal nitrates of cerium and neodymium. The prepared nanoparticles were ground into fine powders and calcined at 700 ℃ in air for 2 h. The calcined Ce_(0.9)Nd_(0.1)O_(1.95) powders were made into cylindrical bodies by uni-axial pressing, and subsequently sintered at 1200 ℃ for 6 h. The nanopowders were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Raman spectrometry, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD results revealed that the Ce_(0.9)Nd_(0.1)O_(1.95) crystallizes as cubic fluorite structure similar to pure ceria. The FTIR spectrum shows the lower frequency bands at 555 cm~(-1) corresponds to the stretching frequencies of metal-oxygen bonds. Raman active mode was observed at 468 cm~(-1) and the existence of oxygen vacancies were confirmed from the weaker absorption region 513-650 cm~(-1). The average particle size of the Nd-doped ceria was found to be in the range of 10-25 nm from the TEM results, which is in good agreement with the particle sizes calculated from X-ray peak broadening method.