Abstract
The University of Central Florida invention enables companies to fabricate highly-reduced, stable ceria nanostructures with approximately 85 percent Ce3+. UCF’s temperature-controlled, reversible defect engineering platform for ceria nanostructures also enables thermal and reversible modulation of the Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio.
Ceria nanostructures are used for various applications due to their unique defect structure, enabling them to have regenerative oxidative properties. However, fabricating highly reduced, stable nanoceria has been challenging. UCF researchers have overcome those challenges by producing vanadium oxide-cerium oxide (VO2-CeO2) hetero-nano bilayers using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The research team coupled the VO2 peculiar low-temperature monoclinic to tetragonal phase transition (PT) with ceria nanostructures. XPS with in-situ heating revealed the Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio is increasing with heating to 68 C (phase transition temperature) and cooling back to room temperature, resulting in a remarkable Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio of 5.97 (Ce3+ approximately 85 percent) with CeO2- VO2 bilayer sample. This system also allows for a reversible physicochemical property with ceria.
Partnering Opportunity
The research team is seeking partners for licensing, research collaboration, or both.
Benefit
Provides precise, reversible control over the defect structure of ceria nanostructures, especially the thin filmsEnables precise designing of systems, including electrochemical sensors, electrocatalystsExplains the mechanism of VO2-CeO2 composite structuresMarket Application
Memory devicesSolid oxide fuel cells Photothermal therapeuticsElectrochemical sensingCatalysis
Brochure
