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Thesis--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-77).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 110 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Fluorescence spectra and UV-Vis absorption spectra are collected on cerium oxide nanocrystalline particles. While CeO2 is the stable form of bulk cerium oxide, ceria nanoparticles exhibit a nonstoichiometric composition, CeO2-γ, due to the presence of oxygen vacancies and the formation of Ce2O3 at the grain boundaries. The Ce(III) ions, which are more reactive and therefore more desirable for various applications, are created by oxygen vacancies, which act as defects in the CeO2-γ crystal lattice. These defects form trap states in the band gap of CeO2, which can be seen in the absorption spectra. Ce(III) is required for fluorescence of the ceria nanoparticles while Ce(IV) is involved in only nonradiative transitions. The optical spectroscopy results show that the ceria samples have different ratios of Ce(III) ions to Ce(IV) ions, which is verified by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). / Master of Science

No description available.

No description available.

In order to understand better the defect structure and dynamics associated with lower valent dopants complexed with native defects in group IV oxides, In/Cd perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy was performed in ceria and zirconia. Examining the orientation symmetry axis of defects in ceria single crystals at low temperature has allowed the identification of a cadmium with a bound near-neighbor oxygen-vacancy complex as well as a complex involving a cadmium with two opposing, near-neighbor oxygen vacancies. The orientation of the symmetry axis of a third complex is reported; however, this information is not sufficient to identify it. Complementing these low temperature studies, the dynamics of the cadmium/oxygen-vacancy interaction in zirconia at high temperatures was studied. The motion of the oxygen vacancy at high temperatures results in a damping of the PAC signal. This damping is not well characterized by the heuristic Marshall-Meares PAC fitting function, and a model is proposed to fit the data in terms of three physical parameters associated with the vacancy's motion. These parameters are the rate at which a bound oxygen vacancy hops among equivalent sites about the probe, the rate at which a bound vacancy detraps, and the rate at which a vacancy is trapped by cadmium. Fits of individual spectra using this model give respective activation energies of 0.3-0.6 eV, 0.9-1.6 eV, and 0.4-0.6 eV. The uncertainty in these energies can most likely be reduced by fitting spectra from multiple temperatures simultaneously. Despite the large uncertainty in the fitted energies, the values are physically reasonable and indicate that the model adequately describes the motion of the oxygen vacancy about cadmium. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic version.

The experiments performed for this research were completed to produce solid cerium oxide microspheres by an internal gelation sol-gel process. The motivation for this work was to develop a process that would enable the fabrication of a storage or transmutation form for the plutonium and transuranics (TRU) from the Uranium Extraction Plus (UREX ) used fuel reprocessing process. This process is being investigated by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Fuel Cycles Initiative (AFCI) through the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. The internal gelation production of cerium oxide involves the combination of hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA), urea, and cerium nitrate solutions at ~100oC. Microspheres were produced by injection of a broth solution into a flowing stream of hot silicone oil. The captured microspheres were aged, washed, and then underwent Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and XRay Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The process variables examined in this study include the concentrations of HMTA, urea and cerium nitrate, the process temperature, the postgelation aging time, and the product washing conditions. Over a series of 70 experiments, it was determined that a broth solution containing a mixture of 1.45 M cerium nitrate and 1.65 M HMTA and urea (1:1 ratio) solutions produced the best cerium oxide microspheres. The spheres were aged for 30 to 60 minutes and then washed in hexane to remove the silicone oil and a subsequent series of ammonium hydroxide washes to remove unreacted product and to fully gel the microspheres. Through DSC analysis it was determined that excess wash or unreacted product may be removed by an exothermic reaction at approximately 200oC. The XRD analysis of unheated spheres showed the presence of cerium oxide with additional cerium-bearing organics. Following heating, the microspheres were completely converted to cerium oxide.