Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence of CeO2 nanoparticles by a facile method at room temperature

A new and simple method to directly synthesize stable and crystalline pure phase CeO2 nanoparticles has been developed using cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) and cerium chloride (CeCl3) at room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), electron diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy were used to examine the morphology and microstructure to find out the cause. The results indicate that the as-synthesized powders are nanocrystalline CeO2 with the cubic fluorite structure. TEM reveals that the as-synthesized CeO2 sample consists of crystalline particles of 4–6 nm, which are weakly aggregated. Room-temperature photoluminescence properties were investigated under the excitation of 325 nm. The samples exhibit the emission peaks of room-temperature photoluminescence.