Abstract
Cerium oxide nanoparticles were biosynthesized using alcoholic extract of Aloe vera at different concentrations. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The average crystallite sizes estimated using the Scherrer equation were 6.56, 8.00, 9.82, 8.75, 7.93, and 6.70 nm for Aloe vera extract masses of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g in 100 mL of alcohol, respectively. The average particle size measured by HRTEM for CeO2 nanoparticles synthesized with 30 g of extract was 5.87 nm. The increase in extract concentration was associated with a reduction in the estimated optical band gap, despite quantum confinement.
