Luminescence Properties of Europium-Doped Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles: Role of Vacancy and Oxidation States

Abstract

Enhancing the optical emission of cerium oxide nanoparticles is essential for potential biomedical applications. In the present work, we report a simple chemical precipitation technique to synthesize europium-doped cerium oxide nanostructures to enhance the emission properties. Structural and optical properties showed an acute dependence on the concentration of oxygen ion vacancy and trivalent cerium, which, in turn, could be modified by dopant concentration and the annealing temperature. Results from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed an increase in tetravalent cerium concentration to 85% on annealing at 900 °C. The concentration of oxygen ion vacancy increased from 1.7 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ to 4.1 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ with the increase in dopant concentration. Maximum emission at room temperature was obtained for 15 mol % Eu-doped ceria, which improved with annealing temperature. The role of oxygen ion vacancies and trivalent cerium in modifying the emission properties is discussed.