Polyethylene glycol assisted facile sol-gel synthesis of lanthanum oxide nanoparticles: Structural characterizations and photoluminescence studies |
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Authors: | Humayun Kabir Sooraj Hussain Nandyala M. Mahbubur Rahman Md Alamgir Kabir Zoe Pikramenou Mark Laver Artemis Stamboulis |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK;2. Department of Physics, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh;3. Surface Analysis & Materials Engineering Research Group, School of Engineering & Information Technology, Murdoch University, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia;4. School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK;5. Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44243, USA |
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Abstract: | In this study, lanthanum oxide nanoparticles (La2O3 NPs) synthesised via the facile sol-gel method, using a solution of micro-sized lanthanum oxide powders containing 20% nitric acid and high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG). The as synthesised La2O3 NPs were then characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Our findings indicated that the concentration of PEG strongly influences the particle size and the lattice strain of the La2O3 NPs. A single phase hexagonal crystal structure was confirmed via XRD studies with lattice constants, a =?b =?0.3973?nm and c =?0.6129?nm. The average crystallite size and lattice strains estimated were in the range of approximately 25–28?nm and 0.0050–0.0055 respectively. The incremental nature of the crystallinity and lattice strains of the NPs was observed with the subsequent enhancement of PEG-contents, while the average particle size was reduced. The average particle size of La2O3 NPs estimated from ESEM imaging was consistent with that obtained from the XRD data. The photoluminescence spectra revealed a strong emission band located at a wavelength of 365?nm (typical green band) for all La2O3NPsamples. This is ascribed to the recombination of delocalized electrons around the conduction band with a single charged state of a surface oxygen vacancy. |
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Keywords: | Sol-gel method X-ray diffraction Particle size Lattice strain Lattice constant Photoluminescence |
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