Preparation and Characterization of Monodisperse Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Hydrocarbon Solvents

Uniform-sized monodisperse cerium oxide nanoparticles were prepared in a one-step reaction. A cerium−oleate complex was heated in an organic solvent with high boiling point to decompose and form nanocrystals. The products were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, XRD, UV−visible spectroscopy, room-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy, and TEM. The TEM images and UV−visible spectra show that the CeO2 particles prepared are uniform nanosized and absorb UV light in the range of 250−400 nm. The size of the nanoparticles prepared can be controlled from 5 to 20 nm by choice of solvent, reaction time, and reactant concentration without any size sorting. The nanoparticles show a strong violet/blue emission at 400 nm in photoluminescence spectrum (PL). The PL emission was found to be sensitive to the particle size.