Comparative studies on CePO4 and CeO2 nanoparticles

CePO4 and CeO 2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by reflux method for different reflux timings 6 hrs and 12 hrs. Samples were subjected to Powder XRD, FTIR, SEM, UV-Vis, TG/DTA and PL studies. Powder XRD studies reveal that the crystallite sizes of CePO4 and CeO2 nanoparticles increases with increasing reflux time. The crystallite sizes of CeO2 nanoparticles are smaller than CePO4 nanoparticles which is evident from the peak broadening in XRD analysis. SEM images show that lots of agglomeration s in CeO2 nanoparticles when compared to CePO 4 nanoparticles. UV-Vis spectral studies indicate that the prepared CePO4 and CeO2 nanoparticles are highly transparent (~ 94%) in the entire UV- Vis range. The FTIR analysis confirms the presence of phosphate group in the prepared CePO4 sample. The peaks corresponding to CeO2 vibrations are seen in the FTIR spectrum of CeO2 sample. The Photoluminescence (PL) studies of CeO2 show two emission peaks around 395 nm and 412 nm, corresponding to violet emission, whereas the PL spectra of CePO 4 shows emission peaks at 487 nm and 547 nm corresponding to bluish green and green emissions. TG/DTA results show that in the case of CeO2 nanoparticles, the samples prepared at a reflux timing of 6 hrs suffer greater weight loss than the samples prepared at a reflux timing of 12 hrs. But the reflux timing doesn't seem to have any influence on the thermal properties of CePO4 nanoparticles. Key wards : Nanoparticles, powder XRD, photoluminescence,efflux time, agglomeration.