Electrochemical and structural analysis of the RE3+:CeO2 nanopowders from combustion synthesis

The reported article deals with the synthesis and characterization of rare earth ions doped ceria (RE3+:CeO2) nanopowders from citrate nitrate auto-combustion route. The crystalline nature and lattice planes of the nanocrystalline RE3+:CeO2 powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) profile fit. The excited state absorption (ESA) and energy transfer up-conversion (ETU) were studied by photoluminescence (PL) measurement. The spectroscopic properties of the powders were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. The surface morphology, average size, distribution and orientation of the lattice planes of the nanoparticles were studied by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The size of RE3+:CeO2 nanoparticles were found to be in the range from 15 to 30 nm which has good agreement with the HRTEM results. The changes in current density with increasing sweep scan potential of the doped ceria powders were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis. The specific capacitance range of the rare earths doped ceria of Er:CeO2, Pr:CeO2, Yr:CeO2 and Nd:CeO2 were calculated as (12.9-86.5), (20-72.4), (80-375) and (0.92-4.22) respectively. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.