Abstract The REE (rare-earth-elements) cerium (Ce) is the most abundant earth-crust element and their oxides have great attention in the form of nanocrystalline nature with superior physical and chemical properties. Pure and Co (1%, 3% and 5%) doped CeO2 nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by co-precipitation technique were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), UV-visible spectroscopy. XRD shows face-centred-cubic (FCC) crystal symmetry with average crystallite size 6–12 nm. HRTEM exhibits almost identical cubical shaped particles with average size 4–10 nm. Tuned band-gap may be observed from UV-visible spectrum of CeO2-NPs upon Co (1%, 3% & 5%) incorporation. Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity observed for Co-doped (1%, 3% & 5%) to the degradation of methylene-blue (MB) dye under visible-light absorption.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been prepared without using surfactants to assess their stability at different time intervals. The synthesized particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images of the samples were also investigated. The average particle size was measured to be 12.7 nm even in the polydispersed form. The magnetic and dielectric characteristics of the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles have also been studied and discussed in detail.

Pure and Cadmium (Cd) doped Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) have been synthesised by the simple chemical co-precipitation technique. Cadmium ions of concentrations 1, 3 and 5 mol% were doped to investigate their influence on the structural and optical properties of CeO 2. The synthesised samples have been subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The XRD and Raman patterns have witnessed the cubic structure of the cerium oxide nanoparticles. The average particle size of CeO 2 was found to be around 10 nm. SEM image has also ascertained that the grain size of pure CeO 2 appeared is bigger than that of the Cd-doped, which intern indicates the grain growth upon doping. Besides, the antibacterial activity of the cadmium doped cerium oxide nanoparticles against some human pathogens revealed that they have exhibited the maximum zone of inhibition against gram-positive bacteria than the gram-negative species. Further, the cytotoxic effect of Cd-doped CeO 2 sample is examined in cultured (MCF-7, A549 and Hep-2) cell.

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