Cerium, titanium, zinc oxide systems: Evaluation of syntheses and structural and morphological properties with photophysical and photochemical applications

Abstract

Solar energy is very important for the development and maintaining life on Earth, besides its importance and essentially in many biochemical processes, Currently solar energy stands out among the alternative sources or renewable energy and in the field of heterogeneous Therefore, studying materials that absorb solar energy is interesting for the development and maintenance of life. Nanostructure cerium, titanium and zinc oxide have been extensively studied due to their optoelectronics properties and, chemical and thermal stability. Structural and morphological variations in the oxides can be easily obtained by modifying the synthetic methods and conditions. Any structural or morphological materials modification can improve the efficiency of photovoltaic materials. The project aims to obtain nanostructured CeO2:TiO2 and CeO2:TiO2:ZnO systems with potential absorptivity in the UV or UV-Vis, using solvotermal and solvotermal-microwave methodology of synthesis. The aim is to obtain systems with finely controlled morphology and composition, with subsequent evaluation of the relationship between the structural characteristics and the observed optical and electronic properties of the solids to apply in photovoltaic systems.