Preparation and characterization of CuCrO2–CeO2 nanofibers by electrospinning method

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 1091 - 1100
• Main Authors: Wang, Chien-Ching, Yu, Chung-Lun, Sakthinathan, Subramanian, Chen, Chia-Ying, Chiu, Te-Wei, Fu, Yung-Shen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electron microscopes; Electrospinning; Field emission microscopy; Materials Science; Nanofibers; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Surface area
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-021-07381-5

In this study, CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers were prepared by the electrospinning method and the influences of different concentrations on the properties of CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers were studied. The electrospun fibers were heated at 700 °C for 1 h in a decompression environment of 1.1 Torr to generate the CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers. The crystalline phase of the nanofibers was analyzed by X-ray diffractometer, and both main diffraction peaks corresponded to the CuCrO
2
and CeO
2
planes. Furthermore, the morphology of the fiber surface was identified by field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. For this study, the diameter of the CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers was approximately 70 nm to 90 nm. The optical properties were analyzed by ultraviolet/visible spectrometer, and the surface area was determined by Brunauer Emmett Teller method. The CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers had a high specific surface area of 14.28 m
2
/g. The energy bandgap of the CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers was estimated at 2.95 eV to 2.97 eV with various concentrations. The prepared CuCrO
2
–CeO
2
nanofibers are a potential material for photocatalyst studies.