Sol–Gel Synthesis of Tunable Cerium Titanate Materials
Cerium titanate structures present a high technological interest because of their optical and catalytic properties. This work reports the synthesis of these materials by a sol–gel methodology that allows mixed oxides with TiIV/CeIII, TiIV/CeIV or TiIV/CeIII–CeIV species to be obtained. Crystallization of CeO2–TiO2 mixed oxides and Ce2Ti2O7 pyrochlore phase was corroborated by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Magnetic and EPR measurements were performed in order to clarify the oxidation state of the cerium ions in the system as a result of the easy oxidation of CeIII. The firing atmosphere is crucial for the CeIII/CeIV ratio, which is responsible for the different structure, but it also affects t…
Aggregation-induced heterogeneities in the emission of upconverting nanoparticles at the submicron scale unfolded by hyperspectral microscopy
Transparent upconverting hybrid nanocomposites are exciting materials for advanced applications such as 3D displays, nanosensors, solar energy converters, and fluorescence biomarkers. This work presents a simple strategy to disperse upconverting b-NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ or Tm3+ nanoparticles into low cost, widely used and easy-to-process polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based organic–inorganic hybrids. The upconverting hybrids were shaped as monoliths, films or powders displaying in the whole volume Tm3+ or Er3+ emissions (in the violet/blue and green/red spectral regions, respectively). For the first time, hyperspectral microscopy allows the identification at the submicron scale of differences in the …