Optical and electrical properties of amine functionalized CeO2 nanoparticles

Herein, we report the synthesis of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles using oleylamine as capping molecule. The method is simple and economical permits to control the desired particle size used for optoelectronic applications. By varying the cerium ion concentration, CeO2 nanoparticles of different particle sizes were synthesized. The optical and electrical conductivity properties were studied by optical absorption and photoluminescence measurements. The structural properties of the CeO2 nanoparticles were studied using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The CeO2 nanoparticles exhibit fluorite cubic phase and the particles are in spherical shape, the estimated average particle size ranges from 2 - 7 nm. The calculated optical and electrical conductivity for sample C-4 is sigma(opt) = 4.325 x 10(10) S(-1)cm(-1) and sigma(ele) = 1.6 x 10(12) S/m respectively. The idiosyncratic feature of the Ce4+ ions with attached amine group shows the positive optical conducting behavior of CeO2 nanoparticles. The present results symbolize that the amine groups are proficient to bring out positive results of optical parameters that holds promise for developing novel devices.