Wet chemical synthesis and characterization of pure and cerium doped Dy2O3 nanoparticles

Pure and cerium doped Dy2O3 nanoparticles were prepared by wet chemical synthesis route. The particles were subjected to thermal, structural, morphological and optical property studies. The calcination temperature was chosen based on the decomposition of the samples revealed by TG studies. EDS and FTIR results confirmed the presence of cerium in the Dy2O3 system. The particle size calculated from Williamson-Hall plot was consistent with TEM results. The effect of cerium as a dopant on the UV–vis absorption and photoluminescence intensity has been studied. XRD and PL analyses demonstrate that the cerium ions uniformly substitute dysprosium sites in Dy2O3 lattice and hence influence the optical properties.

► Pure and Ce:Dy2O3 nanoparticles were prepared via wet chemical synthesis route.
► XRD, EDS and FTIR results confirmed the presence of cerium in the Dy2O3 system.
► Particle size calculated from W–H plot was consistent with TEM results.
► Effect of cerium as a dopant on the UV–vis and PL spectra has been studied.