Characterization of Ce(1−x)ZrxO2 yellow nanopigments synthesized by a green sol-gel method

In this paper, we report on the synthesis of Ce(1−x)ZrxO2 yellow nanopigments (NPs) by a simple green sol-gel method, using gelatin as the stabilization and polymerization agent. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to obtain the optimum gel calcination temperature. The synthesized Ce(1−x)ZrxO2 powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis spectroscopy and CIE-L*a*b* measurement. The XRD patterns of the samples calcined at 600 °C revealed the formation of the desired crystal structures without any secondary phases, confirmed by Raman analysis. The TEM images indicated that the pigments' particle shapes are almost spherical with average particle size of about 8 nm. It was found that by increasing Zr+4 concentrations the absorption edge of the produced NPs have a red-shift. The produced NPs had brilliant yellow colour, derived from CIE-L*a*b* coordinates.