Influence of Cerium Doping on the Physical Characteristics of WO3 Nanomaterials

Abstract

In this work, CexW1-xO3 nanoparticles have been synthesised using simple and cost effective co-precipitation method. The concentration of Cerium dopant in Tungsten Oxide host matrix have been varied as 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 8% and 10% at the time of preparation. In order to get good crystallites and fine structure, the prepared samples have been annealed at optimized temperature 600oC. The crystal structure, morphology, optical band gap, surface chemistry and vibrational modes characteristics at room temperature have been studied via XRD, SEM, UV Vis, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy techniques respectively. The structural investigations have clearly revealed that the synthesized samples are in ordering of monoclinic structuring and Cerium is successfully doped into host matrix without forming any tiny cluster. The morphological examinations have depicted that the prepared samples are comprised of spherical nanoparticles with average particle size of 80 nm. FTIR technique has identified the presence of O-H and O-W-O type bonding. The vibrational study through Raman further confirms the absence of impurities and observed to be consistent with the results of XRD and FTIR investigations. The shift and suppression in vibrational modes of host material as function of Cerium doping may be due to the presence of defects. It is interestingly found that the band gap is significantly tailored with Cerium doping which may be assigned to defects and size of nanoparticles. Methylene blue (MB) is a toxic textile industrial wastewater material and it is very harmful for aquatic lives. The prepared Tungsten Oxide and Cerium doped Tungsten Oxide nanoparticles have shown excellent sun light driven photocatalytic activities against MB. The prepared Cerium doped Tungsten Oxide nanoparticles as a sun light driven photocatalyst, can be used for worldwide purification of wastewater.