Keywords

Cerium Oxide, Structural Properties, Materials Characterization, Silver Doping

Abstract

Cerium oxide nanoparticles are known for their applications across several domains due to their biocompatibility, high oxygen storage capacity, redox behavior, and stability. However, their intrinsic electrical conductivity is relatively low, which can limit their performance in energy storage applications. Doping cerium oxide with transition metals has proved to enhance conductive properties and, hence, their performance in related applications. This research investigates the doping of cerium oxide with silver (Ag) and its correlation with the properties of the material. Silver-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by wet-chemical synthesis at room temperature by a facile procedure. Cerium oxide was doped with 1 mol%, 2 mol%, 4 mol%, 10 mol%, 20 mol%, 50 mol% and 100 mol% of silver. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the solubility limit of silver in cerium oxide is about 4 mol%. For concentrations of silver higher than 4 mol%, peaks indexed to high density crystal planes related to silver were visible in XRD graphs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the doping process did not alter the crystalline structure of Cerium oxide, and the nanoparticles are quasi-spherical in shape. Silver-doped cerium oxide nanoparticles ranged in size from 3.2 nm to 4.5 nm.Band gap energy calculated from UV-Visible spectroscopy showed a decrease as compared to pure cerium oxide, which confirms the doping of silver in the cerium lattice. XPS confirmed the presence of a higher ratio of Ce (+4) as compared to Ce (+3) for all the synthesized samples. Electrochemical analysis, such as cyclic voltammetry, revealed that the electrodes fabricated from silver-incorporated cerium oxide showed redox behavior within the potential range of -0.2 to 1.4 mV. When the potential was increased beyond 1.4 mV, a gas evolution reaction was observed. Increasing silver quantity had a positive effect on the redox activity of active material.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Seal, Sudipta

Degree

Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering (M.S.M.S.E.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Materials Science and Engineering

Identifier

DP0029359

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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