The Effect of Precursor Concentration on the Particle Size, Crystal Size, and Optical Energy Gap of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ Nanofabrication

Naif Mohammed Al-Hada^{1

2

3}, Rafiziana Md Kasmani², Hairoladenan Kasim⁴, Abbas M Al-Ghaili⁵, Muneer Aziz Saleh², Essam M Banoqitah⁶, Abdulsalam M Alhawsawi^{6

7}, Anwar Ali Baqer⁸, Jian Liu¹, Shicai Xu¹, Qiang Li¹, Azlan Muhammad Noorazlan⁹, Abdullah A A Ahmed^{3

10}, Moayad Husein Flaifel^{11

12}, Suriati Paiman¹³, Nazirul Nazrin¹³, Bandar Ali Al-Asbahi¹⁴, Jihua Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
² School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia.
³ Department of Physics, Faculty of Applied Science, Thamar University, Dhamar 87246, Yemen.
⁴ College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia.
⁵ Institute of Informatics and Computing in Energy (IICE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia.
⁶ Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, K. A. CARE Energy Research and Innovation Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Center for Training & Radiation Prevention, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, Iraq.
⁹ Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Fachbereich Physik, Center for Hybrid Nanostructures (CHyN), Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
¹⁴ Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 34443973
PMCID: PMC8401046
DOI: 10.3390/nano11082143

The Effect of Precursor Concentration on the Particle Size, Crystal Size, and Optical Energy Gap of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ Nanofabrication

Naif Mohammed Al-Hada et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021.

. 2021 Aug 22;11(8):2143.

doi: 10.3390/nano11082143.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China.
² School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia.
³ Department of Physics, Faculty of Applied Science, Thamar University, Dhamar 87246, Yemen.
⁴ College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia.
⁵ Institute of Informatics and Computing in Energy (IICE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia.
⁶ Department of Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, K. A. CARE Energy Research and Innovation Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Center for Training & Radiation Prevention, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80204, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, Iraq.
⁹ Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, Malaysia.
¹⁰ Fachbereich Physik, Center for Hybrid Nanostructures (CHyN), Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany.
¹¹ Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia.
¹⁴ Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 34443973
PMCID: PMC8401046
DOI: 10.3390/nano11082143

Abstract

In the present work, a thermal treatment technique is applied for the synthesis of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ nanoparticles. Using this method has developed understanding of how lower and higher precursor values affect the morphology, structure, and optical properties of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ nanoparticles. Ce_xSn_1-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 Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ nanoparticles formed after calcination reflect the cubic fluorite structure and cassiterite-type tetragonal structure of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ nanoparticles. Meanwhile, using FT-IR analysis, Ce-O and Sn-O were confirmed as the primary bonds of ready Ce_xSn_1-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.

Keywords: CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles; energy band gap; polyvinylpyrrolidone; thermal treatment technique.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
(a) PVP chemical structure; (b) formation of the resonance structure of the pyrene ring of PVP.

**Figure 2**
Schematic illustration of the proposed mechanism of interaction between metal ions and PVP.

**Figure 3**
TEM images of (x_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂, (x_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂, (x_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, (x_0.06) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, (x_0.08) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂ and (x_1.00) Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂) nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

**Figure 4**
Particle size distribution of (x^/_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂, (x^/_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂, (x^/_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, (x^/_0.06) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, (x^/_0.08) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂, and (x^/_1.00) Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂) nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

**Figure 5**
SEM images of (x_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂, (x_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂, (x_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, (x_0.06) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, (x_0.08) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂ and (x_1.00), Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂) nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

**Figure 6**
XRD patterns of (x_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂, (x_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂, (x_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, (x_0.06) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, (x_0.08) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂ and (x_1.00) Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂) nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

**Figure 7**
FTIR spectra of (a) the sample after drying at 80 °C ((b), x_1.00) Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂, ((c), x_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂ ((d), x_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, ((e), x_0.60) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, ((f), x_0.80) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂ and ((g), x_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂ nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

**Figure 8**
The energy bandgap of (x_0.00) Ce_0.00Sn_1.00O₂, (x_0.20) Ce_0.20Sn_0.80O₂, (x_0.40) Ce_0.40Sn_0.60O₂, (x_0.06) Ce_0.60Sn_0.40O₂, (x_0.08) Ce_0.80Sn_0.20O₂, and (x_1.00) Ce_1.00Sn_0.00O₂) nanoparticles calcined at 650 °C.

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The Effect of Precursor Concentration on the Particle Size, Crystal Size, and Optical Energy Gap of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ Nanofabrication

Affiliations

The Effect of Precursor Concentration on the Particle Size, Crystal Size, and Optical Energy Gap of Ce_xSn_1-xO₂ Nanofabrication

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

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