The Effect of Precursor Concentration on the Particle Size, Crystal Size, and Optical Energy Gap of Ce<sub>x</sub>Sn<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Nanofabrication
Naif Mohammed Al-Hada,
Rafiziana Md. Kasmani,
Hairoladenan Kasim,
Abbas M. Al-Ghaili,
Muneer Aziz Saleh,
Essam M. Banoqitah,
Abdulsalam M. Alhawsawi,
Anwar Ali Baqer,
Jian Liu,
Shicai Xu,
Qiang Li,
Azlan Muhammad Noorazlan,
Abdullah A. A. Ahmed,
Moayad Husein Flaifel,
Suriati Paiman,
Nazirul Nazrin,
Bandar Ali Al-Asbahi,
Jihua Wang
Affiliations
Naif Mohammed Al-Hada
Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
Rafiziana Md. Kasmani
School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Hairoladenan Kasim
College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Abbas M. Al-Ghaili
Institute of Informatics and Computing in Energy (IICE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Kajang 43000, Malaysia
Muneer Aziz Saleh
School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Essam M. Banoqitah
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
Abdulsalam M. Alhawsawi
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
Anwar Ali Baqer
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, Iraq
Jian Liu
Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
Shicai Xu
Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
Qiang Li
Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
Azlan Muhammad Noorazlan
Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim 35900, Malaysia
Abdullah A. A. Ahmed
Department of Physics, Faculty of Applied Science, Thamar University, Dhamar 87246, Yemen
Moayad Husein Flaifel
Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia
Suriati Paiman
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Nazirul Nazrin
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Bandar Ali Al-Asbahi
Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Jihua Wang
Shandong Key Laboratory of Biophysics, Institute of Biophysics, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
In the present work, a thermal treatment technique is applied for the synthesis of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. Using this method has developed understanding of how lower and higher precursor values affect the morphology, structure, and optical properties of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. CexSn1−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 CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles formed after calcination reflect the cubic fluorite structure and cassiterite-type tetragonal structure of CexSn1−xO2 nanoparticles. Meanwhile, using FT-IR analysis, Ce-O and Sn-O were confirmed as the primary bonds of ready CexSn1−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.
