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At least 397 records · Page 22

Determination of gaseous fission product behavior near the cerium dioxide Σ 3 (111)/[1 1 ¯ 0] tilt grain boundary via first-principles study

We present that grain boundaries (GBs) are the most abundant structural defects in nanostructured nuclear fuels and play an important role in determining fission product behavior, which further affects the performance of nuclear fuels. In this work, cerium dioxide (CeO 2 ) is used as a surrogate material for mixed oxide fuels to understand gaseous fission product behavior, specifically Xe. First-principles calculations are employed to comprehensively study the behavior of Xe and trap sites for Xe near the Σ 3 (111)/[1 1 ¯ 0] grain boundary in CeO 2 , which will provide guidance on overall trends for Xe stability and diffusion at grain boundaries vs in the bulk. Significant segregation behavior of trap sites, regardless of charge states, is observed near the GB. This is mainly ascribed to the local atomic structure near the GB, which results in weaker bond strength and more negative segregation energies. For Xe, however, the segregation profile near the GB is different. Our calculations show that, as the size of trap sites increases, the segregation propensity of Xe is reduced. In addition, under hyper-stoichiometric conditions, the solubility of Xe trapped at the GB is significantly higher than that in the bulk, suggesting higher Xe concentration than that in the bulk. The results of this work demonstrate that the diffusion mechanism of Xe in CeO 2 is comparable to that in UO 2 . The diffusion activation energies of Xe atoms in the Σ3GB are lower than that in the bulk CeO 2 . Lastly, these results suggest that the diffusivity of Xe atoms is higher along the GB than that in the bulk, which enhances the aggregation of Xe atoms near the GB.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fungus mediated synthesis of biomedically important cerium oxide nanoparticles

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • First time biological synthesis of cerium oxide oxide nanoparticles using fungus Humicola sp. • Complete characterization of cerium oxide nanoparticles. • Biosynthesis of naturally protein capped, luminescent and water dispersible CeO{sub 2} nanoparticles. • Biosynthesized CeO{sub 2} nanoparticles can be used for many biomedical applications. - Abstract: Nanomaterials can be synthesized by chemical, physical and the more recently discovered biological routes. The biological routes are advantageous over the chemical and physical ones as unlike these, the biological synthesis protocols occur at ambient conditions, are cheap, non-toxic and eco-friendly. Although purely biological and bioinspired methods for the synthesis of nanomaterials are environmentally benign and energy conserving processes, their true potential has not been explored yet and attempts are being made to extend the formation of technologically important nanoparticles using microorganisms like fungi. Though there have been reports on the biosynthesis of oxide nanoparticles by our group in the past, no attempts have been made to employ fungi for the synthesis of nanoparticles of rare earth metals or lanthanides. Here we report for the first time, the bio-inspired synthesis of biomedically important cerium oxide (CeO{sub 2}) nanoparticles using the thermophilic fungus Humicola sp. The fungus Humicola sp. when exposed to aqueous solutions of oxide precursor cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate (CeN{sub 3}O{sub 9}·6H{sub 2}O) results in the extracellular formation of CeO{sub 2} nanoparticles containing Ce (III) and Ce (IV) mixed oxidation states, confirmed by X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS). The formed nanoparticles are naturally capped by proteins secreted by the fungus and thus do not agglomerate, are highly stable, water dispersible and are highly fluorescent as well. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (XPS)

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Altering properties of cerium oxide thin films by Rh doping

Highlights: • Thin films of ceria doped by rhodium deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. • Concentration of rhodium has great impact on properties of Rh–CeO{sub x} thin films. • Intensive oxygen migration in films with low concentration of rhodium. • Oxygen migration suppressed in films with high amount of Rh dopants. - Abstract: Ceria containing highly dispersed ions of rhodium is a promising material for catalytic applications. The Rh–CeO{sub x} thin films with different concentrations of rhodium were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and were studied by soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies, Temperature programmed reaction and X-ray powder diffraction techniques. The sputtered films consist of rhodium–cerium mixed oxide where cerium exhibits a mixed valency of Ce{sup 4+} and Ce{sup 3+} and rhodium occurs in two oxidation states, Rh{sup 3+} and Rh{sup n+}. We show that the concentration of rhodium has a great influence on the chemical composition, structure and reducibility of the Rh–CeO{sub x} thin films. The films with low concentrations of rhodium are polycrystalline, while the films with higher amount of Rh dopants are amorphous. The morphology of the films strongly influences the mobility of oxygen in the material. Therefore, varying the concentration of rhodium in Rh–CeO{sub x} thin films leads to preparing materials with different properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Bimetallic oxamato complexes synthesized into mesoporous matrix as precursor to tunable nanosized oxide

Highlights: • The bimetallic oxamato complexes as single-source precursor. • We prepared into a porous silica glass tunable nanosized oxide powders. • X-ray diffraction shows the formation of CeO{sub 2}/CuO and spinel cobaltite. • The different number of IDC allows control of the nanoparticle size. - Abstract: The bimetallic complexes were employed to prepare into a porous silica glass tunable nanosized oxide powders through the single source precursor (SSP) method. These materials were prepared by first anchoring of [Cu(opba)]{sup 2−} [opba = ortho-phenylenebis(oxamato)], second by reaction in situ with second metal [Co(II) or Ce(III)] and followed by a thermal treatment. The different number of impregnation–decomposition cycles (IDC) allows control of the nanoparticle size. X-ray diffraction shows the formation of mixture CeO{sub 2}–CuO and spinel copper cobaltite. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the formation of such phases. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that spinel cobaltite particles (8 IDC) present a mean size of about 9 nm, whereas for the CeO{sub 2}–CuO phase the particle diameters are 4 nm (2 IDC) and 8 nm (6 IDC). For CeO{sub 2}–CuO the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy indicates a consistent red shift in band gap from 3.41 to 2.87 eV with increasing of particle size due to quantum confinement effect.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effect of Ce doping on the resistance of Na over V2O5-WO3/TiO2 SCR catalysts

Highlights: • Different forms of Na poisoning CeO{sub 2}-V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. • The comparison of the poisoning effect between Na{sub 2}O and NaCl over Ce{sub 10}VWTi catalyst was studied. • The poisoning effect of Na{sub 2}O is lighter than that of NaCl because the 4Na{sub 2}O-Ce{sub 10}VWTi catalyst exists more acid sites. • The reasons contributing to the catalytic activity and Na poisoning resistance of CeVWTi catalyst were proposed. - Abstract: Enhanced performance of Ce doping on the catalytic activity of V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts and its resistance properties to Na poisoning have been investigated in the research. Different Na species (NaCl and Na{sub 2}O) were deposited on CeO{sub 2}-V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts by impregnation method. The results presented that CeO{sub 2}-V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts exhibited a higher NH{sub 3}-SCR activity and better Na resistance than the V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalyst, and its poisoning resistance to Na{sub 2}O is more superior than to NaCl, caused by more acid sites over the 10%CeO{sub 2}-V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} (Ce{sub 10}VWTi) catalyst, which indicated that the poisoning resistance of Na{sub 2}O on Ce{sub 10}VWTi catalysts is higher than that of NaCl. Combined with the characterization results, the dopant of Ce could enhance the surface chemisorbed oxygen on the Na poisoning V{sub 2}O{sub 5}-WO{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} catalysts, facilitate the redox cycle, and increase the intensity of acid sites due to the newly formed Brønsted acid sites stemmed from Ce{sup 3+}−NH{sub 4}{sup +}, thereby promoting catalytic activity and Na poisoning resistance.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Direct observation of oxygen vacancy ordering evolution in cerium oxide at varying concentrations via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy

Under illumination by a 300 keV electron beam, oxygen vacancy ordering structures are induced within cerium oxide grains. Here, our high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) study, supported by image simulation, reveals the evolution of these structures as vacancy concentration increases. The observed fluorite-type superlattice structures are identified as CeO 1.825 , CeO 1.75 , Ce 2 O 3 , displaying a gradient in oxygen vacancy concentration moving away from the grain surface. Correspondingly, the structural sequence transitions from Ce 2 O 3 to CeO 1.75 and then to CeO 1.825 . Without the constraints of surrounding grains, fluorite-type Ce 2 O 3 nanocrystals show a preference for transformation into an A-type trigonal structure. Notably, at temperatures up to 200°C, only the perfect fluorite structure is observed. Structural models were validated through both [110] and [001] projections. Our findings further confirm lattice expansion associated with local oxygen vacancy enrichment, which can be compensated by the formation of stacking faults, where a {111} oxygen plane is lost at defect sites.

Cerium oxide↗

Temperature Dependence Discontinuity in the Stability of Manganese doped Ceria Nanocrystals

CeO 2 has strong potential for chemical-looping water splitting. It has been shown that manganese doping decreases interface energies of CeO 2 , allowing increased stability of high surface areas in this oxygen carrier oxide. The phenomenon is related to the segregation of Mn3+ at interfaces, which causes a measurable decrease in excess energy. Here in the present work, it is shown that, despite the stability of nanocrystals of manganese-doped CeO 2 with relation to undoped CeO 2 , the effect is strongly dependent on the oxidation state of manganese, i.e., on the temperature. At temperatures below 800 °C, Mn is in the 3+ valence state, and coarsening is hindered by the reduced interface energetics, showing smaller crystal sizes with increasing Mn content. At temperatures above 800 °C, Mn is reduced to its 2+ valence state, and coarsening is enhanced with increasing Mn content. Atomistic simulations show the segregation of Mn to grain boundaries is relatively insensitive to the charge state of the dopant. However, point defect modeling finds that the reduced state causes a decrease in cation vacancy concentration and an increase in cation interstitials, reducing drag forces for grain boundary mobility and increasing growth rates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tuning the Interaction between Platinum Single Atoms and Ceria by Zirconia Doping for Efficient Catalytic Ammonia Oxidation

Aiming at the development of an efficient NH 3 oxidation catalyst to eliminate the harmful NH 3 slip from the stationary flue gas denitrification system and diesel exhaust aftertreatment system, a facile ZrO 2 doping strategy was proposed to construct Pt 1 /Ce x Zr 1–x O 2 catalysts with a tunable Pt-CeO 2 interaction strength and Pt–O–Ce coordination environment. According to the results of systematic characterizations, Pt species supported on Ce x Zr 1–x O 2 were mainly in the form of single atoms when x ≥ 0.7, and the strength of the Pt-CeO 2 interaction and the coordination number of Pt–O–Ce bond (CN Pt–O–Ce ) on Pt 1 /Ce x Zr 1–x O 2 showed a volcanic change as a function of the ZrO 2 doping amount. Here, it was proposed that the balance between the reasonable concentration of oxygen defects and limited surface Zr–O x species well accounted for the strongest Pt-CeO 2 interaction and the highest CN Pt–O–Ce on Pt/Ce 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 2 . It was observed that the Pt/Ce 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 2 catalyst exhibited much higher NH 3 oxidation activity than other Pt/Ce x Zr 1–x O 2 catalysts. The mechanism study revealed that the Pt 1 species with the stronger Pt-CeO 2 interaction and higher CN Pt–O–Ce within Pt/Ce 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 2 could better activate NH 3 adsorbed on Lewis acid sites to react with O 2 thus resulting in superior NH 3 oxidation activity. This work provides a new approach for designing highly efficient Pt/CeO 2 based catalysts for low-temperature NH 3 oxidation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Controlling Heteroepitaxy by Oxygen Chemical Potential: Exclusive Growth of (100) Oriented Ceria Nanostructures on Cu(111)

We present a novel and simple method for the preparation of a well-defined CeO 2 (100) model system on Cu(111) based on the adjustment of the Ce/O ratio during growth. The method yields micrometer-sized, several nanometers high, single-phase CeO 2 (100) islands with controllable size and surface termination that can be benchmarked against the known (111) nanostructured islands on Cu(111). We also demonstrate the ability to adjust the Ce to O stoichiometry from CeO 2 (100) (100% Ce 4+ ) to c-Ce 2 O 3 (100) (100% Ce 3+ ), which can be readily recognized by characteristic surface reconstructions observed by low-energy electron diffraction. Finally, the discovery of the highly stable CeO x (100) phase on a hexagonally close packed metal surface represents an unexpected growth mechanism of ceria on Cu(111), and it provides novel opportunities to prepare more elaborate models, benchmark surface chemical reactivity, and thus gain valuable insights into the redox chemistry of ceria in catalytic processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

One Beam, Dual Insights: Simultaneous Chemical and Structural Changes in Nanopatterned Ceria under Reaction Conditions

Ceria’s interaction with hydrogen can proceed through multiple chemical forms (hydride, hydroxyl, and oxyhydroxide-like), with consequences for the oxidation state, density, and morphology that are rarely tracked in the same evolving state. Here, in this work, we show that under mild H 2 (and H 2 and CO 2 ) environments nanopatterned ceria undergoes oxidation-state changes accompanied by hydrogen incorporation that increases the effective electron density, establishing the following order: CeO 2 Hy > CeO 2 > CeO 2–x Hy > CeO 2–x . In parallel, the surface roughens in a chemically specific manner, with the largest changes coinciding with conditions where incorporated hydrogen is driven to react with oxygen supplied either by air exposure between experiments or by added CO 2 . We obtained these insights by using a single X-ray beam to simultaneously perform ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and grazing-incidence X-ray scattering on the same sample spot. Single-mode measurements can miss key ceria–H 2 transformations relevant to optimizing ceria-based hydrogenation catalysts and supports.

anions↗

Elucidation of the Active Sites in Single-Atom Pd 1 /CeO 2 Catalysts for Low-Temperature CO Oxidation

Supported precious metals with atomic dispersion are of great interest in catalysis due to their potentials in achieving maximum atom efficiency and unique reactivities. Herein, the active sites for low-temperature CO oxidation are elucidated over single-atom Pd 1 /CeO 2 catalysts prepared via high-temperature atom trapping (AT). The increased oxygen vacancies on CeO 2 surface induced by 800 °C air calcination result in decreased Pd–CeO 2 coordinations, i.e., the coordination-unsaturated Pd 2+ on CeO 2 . Light-off and light-out measurements coupled with CO-DRIFTS and X-ray absorption characterization confirm that these coordination-unsaturated Pd 2+ on CeO 2 are much more reactive than the fully coordinated counterpart, evidenced by a decrease of T 90 (temperature to achieve 90% conversion) by ~100 °C in CO oxidation at a gas hourly space velocity of 300 L g –1 h –1 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Fine-tuned local coordination environment of Pt single atoms on ceria controls catalytic reactivity

Constructing single atom catalysts with fine-tuned coordination environments can be a promising strategy to achieve satisfactory catalytic performance. Herein, via a simple calcination temperature-control strategy, CeO 2 supported Pt single atom catalysts with precisely controlled coordination environments are successfully fabricated. The joint experimental and theoretical analysis reveals that the Pt single atoms on Pt 1 /CeO 2 prepared at 550 °C (Pt/CeO 2 -550) are mainly located at the edge sites of CeO 2 with a Pt–O coordination number of ca. 5, while those prepared at 800 °C (Pt/CeO 2 -800) are predominantly located at distorted Ce substitution sites on CeO 2 terrace with a Pt–O coordination number of ca. 4. Pt/CeO 2 -550 and Pt/CeO 2 -800 with different Pt 1 -CeO 2 coordination environments exhibit a reversal of activity trend in CO oxidation and NH 3 oxidation due to their different privileges in reactants activation and H 2 O desorption, suggesting that the catalytic performance of Pt single atom catalysts in different target reactions can be maximized by optimizing their local coordination structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Single-atom Zr promoter boosts oxygen activation on ceria-supported Pt catalysts

Activation of surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen on catalyst surfaces constitutes a pivotal step in heterogeneous oxidative catalysis. Herein, we report a strategy for enhancing oxygen activation by rational design of catalysts with single-atom promoters. Single-site Zr species in CeO 2 (Zr 1 -CeO 2 ) are synthesized using the atom-trapping method. The Zr 1 -CeO 2 -supported Pt catalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic performance over the CeO 2 -supported Pt catalyst in the oxidation of CO, C 3 H 8 , and C 3 H 6 , achieving significantly lower T 50 values (temperature required to reach 50% conversion). This enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the formation of an asymmetric Zr 1 -O-Pt 1 structure, which favors the activation of the adjacent surface lattice oxygen and chemisorbed molecular oxygen. This work exemplifies that incorporating single-site atoms into oxide support facilitates oxygen activation, providing new insights into the role of atomically dispersed promoters in heterogeneous catalysis.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

On the structural stability of crystalline ceria phases in undoped and acceptor-doped ceria materials under in situ reduction conditions

The reduction of pure and Sm-doped ceria in hydrogen has been studied by synchrotron-based in situ X-ray diffraction to eventually prove or disprove the presence of crystalline cerium hydride (CeH x ) phases and the succession of potential structural phase (trans)formations of reduced cerium oxide phases during heating-cooling cycles up to 1273 K. Despite a recent report on the existence of bulk and surface CeH x phases during reductive treatment of pure CeO 2 in H 2 , structural analysis by Rietveld refinement as well as additional 1 H-NMR spectroscopy did not reveal the presence of any crystalline CeH x phase. Rather, a sequence of phase transformations during the re-cooling process in H 2 has been observed. In both samples, the reduced/defective fluorite lattice undergoes at first a transformation into a bixbyite-type lattice with a formal stoichiometry Ce 0.58 3+ Ce 0.42 4+ O 1.71 and Sm 0.15 3+ Ce 0.39 3+ Ce 0.46 4+ O 1.73 , before a transformation into rhombohedral Ce 7 O 12 takes place in pure CeO 2 . This phase is clearly absent for the Sm-doped material. Finally, a triclinic Ce 11 O 20 phase appears for both materials, which can be recovered to room temperature, and on which a phase mixture of bixbyite Ce 0.66 3+ Ce 0.34 4+ O 1.67 , rh-Ce 0.60 3+ Ce 0.40 4+ O 1.70 and tri-Ce 0.48 3+ Ce 0.52 4+ O 1.76 (for pure CeO 2 ) or bixbyite Sm 0.15 3+ Ce 0.47 3+ Ce 0.38 4+ O 1.69 and tri-Sm 0.15 3+ Ce 0.31 3+ Ce 0.54 4+ O 1.77 (for Sm-doped CeO 2 ) prevails. The absence of the rhombohedral phase indicates that Sm doping leads to the stabilization of the bixbyite phase over the rhombohedral one at this particular oxygen vacancy concentration. It is worth noting that recent work proves that hydrogen is indeed incorporated within the structures during the heat treatments, but under the chosen experimental conditions it has apparently no effect on the salient structural principles during reduction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spatiotemporal characterization of cerium monoxide in laser ablation plasmas using spectrally-resolved fast-gated imaging

The impact of oxidation chemistry on the emission characteristics and spatial structure of laser-produced Ce metal plasmas was investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and time-resolved fast-gated imaging employing narrowband optical filters. Images of the plasma emission show that CeO coexists with atomic species in the periphery and vortex ring of the plasma plume. Image processing was also applied to combine independent monochromatic images of the plasma emission into a single merged image, culminating in a timelapse on the spatiotemporal evolution of atomic and molecular species within the plasma plume. The formation of CeO species was observed to proceed faster for plasmas generated in atmospheres containing larger concentrations of oxygen based on ratios of CeO-to-atomic emission intensities. Furthermore, these same ratios were shown to plateau and decrease at later times (≥25 μs), potentially indicating the depletion of CeO number densities in the plasma as the monoxide undergoes reactions to form higher polyatomic oxides. Altogether, these results provide fundamental insights into the chemical dynamics and intermixing between plasma-gas species in laser ablation cerium plasmas, advancing our understanding on optical signatures of nuclear-relevant materials to enable in-field measurement capabilities.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Real-time observation of dynamic process of oxygen vacancy migration in cerium oxides under electric field

The dynamic process of oxygen vacancy migration driven by the external electric field is directly observed at atomic scale in the cerium oxides (CeO{sub 2}) thin film by in-situ transmission electron microscopy method. When a bias voltage of a proper value is applied across the CeO{sub 2} film, the oxygen vacancies are formed near the interface of CeO{sub 2}/anode, followed by their migration along the direction of the external electric field. The structural modulation occurs in the [110] zone axis due to the ordering of oxygen vacancies. The migration of oxygen vacancies results in the reversible structural transformation, i.e., releasing and storing oxygen processes in CeO{sub 2}, which is of great significance for the ionic and electronic applications of the cerium oxides materials, such as oxygen pump, gas sensor, resistive random access memory, etc.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Response of ZrC to swift heavy ion irradiation

Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is commonly used for energy sector research, as well as a surrogate for the proposed advanced nuclear fuel candidate uranium carbide. Here this study investigates structural modifications to nanocrystalline and microcrystalline ZrC resulting from dense electronic excitations induced by swift heavy ion exposure. Samples were irradiated with 946 MeV Au ions to various fluences up to 6 × 10 13 ions cm –2 and characterized using synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction. The evolution of the unit-cell parameter and heterogeneous microstrain were evaluated as a function of fluence and compared with those of nanocrystalline and microcrystalline CeO 2 (a surrogate for UO 2 fuel) irradiated under identical conditions. Distinct differences were observed in the radiation responses of the carbide and oxide across both grain sizes. Most notably, microcrystalline ZrC exhibits swelling characterized by two distinct regimes, which does not result in saturation at the ion fluences achieved. This contrasts with CeO 2 , which exhibits the well-documented direct-impact defect accumulation mechanism, reaching a steady-state saturation of swelling at higher fluences. Nanocrystalline CeO 2 undergoes more pronounced swelling compared with microcrystalline CeO 2 , in contrast to nanocrystalline ZrC, which exhibits only minimal unit-cell changes. These results demonstrate that swift heavy ion-induced structural changes can be quite different in carbides and oxides, which must be considered when extrapolating fission-fragment type damage in current fuels to advanced fuels.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗