Ferromagnetic Fe-substituted Cerium Oxide Nanorods: Synthesis and characterization

In this study, we have synthesized nanostructured FexCe1 (-) O-x(2) (0 <= x <= 0.5) particles by microwave refluxing method. All the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman, UV-vis, photoluminescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The microstructural characterization reveals that at lower concentration of Fe (x = 0.1), the sample predominantly has spherical shape particles along with nanorods. The nanorods become prominent with increased Fe content. Further, the substitution of Fe3+ ions in CeO2 caused formation of defect states between Ce4+ conduction band and O-2-valence band. These defect states or oxygen vacancies caused increase in the saturation magnetization (M-s). Even the anisotropy of the nanorods reduces the localized antiferromagnetic interaction between Fe3+ ions and hence MS value found to be increasing. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.