Cassava-starch-assisted sol–gel synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticles

Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using native cassava starch as a size-limiting chelating agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed that all synthesized samples exhibited a cubic CeO2 structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and XRD observations showed that increasing the calcination temperature increased the average crystallite particle sizes from 8.1 to 12.7nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman results also revealed that reduction in the valence of Ce4+ to Ce3+ caused an increase in the molar fraction of oxygen vacancies, resulting in the presence of structural defects in the CeO2 lattice. The cassava-starch-assisted sol–gel method proved to be highly efficient for the synthesis of highly crystalline CeO2 nanoparticles with potential for industrial applications. [Display omitted] •CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a cassava starch-assisted sol-gel method.•Cassava-starch is a useful chelating agent to prepare CeO2nanoparticles.•The synthesized CeO2 nanoparticles present potential for industrial applications.