Influence of Eu3 + doping content on antioxidant properties of Lu2O3 sol-gel derived nanoparticles

Abstract This paper presents the synthesis of pure and europium-doped lutetium oxide (Lu 2 O 3 ) powders prepared by sol-gel method. The influence of europium ion concentration into Lu 2 O 3 nanocrystallites was investigated for first time in an in vitro system using a modified ABTS radical cation decolorization assay to determine the antioxidant activity. The crystalline structure of Lu 2 O 3 and Eu:Lu 2 O 3 powders was elucidated by XRD obtaining cubic phase in all system without secondary products in accordance with FT-IR results. By TEM and Scherrer equation, it was determined that Lu 2 O 3 and Eu:Lu 2 O 3 powders presented nearly spherical particle morphology with crystallites sizes in the range of 8 to 13 nm. The antioxidant assays results revealed that europium ion enhance Lu 2 O 3 powders antioxidant properties, showing that 12.5 mol% of europium is sufficient to reach its maximum capacity.