The cover of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Nanoscale Advances (IF = 6.3) showcases the research of Zuzana Šiška and the team within Assoc. Prof. Roman Gröger’s group at the IPM. Their paper, Microtron electron beam enables post-synthetic defect engineering in ultrasmall ceria nanocrystals, was developed through an international collaboration. The research investigates ultrasmall cerium oxide nanoparticles (2-3 nm) and examines how oxygen vacancies and the Ce3+/Ce4+ redox couple significantly affect their optical and magnetic properties.
The authors showed that microtron-based high-energy electron-beam irradiation can act as a reagent-free post-synthesis technique to adjust defect-related features in colloidal ceria nanocrystals, all while maintaining their crystalline cores. This 16.5 MeV electron beam changed Ce3+/oxygen-vacancy states, altered optical absorption, and significantly increased magnetization compared to unaltered nanoceria. This research paves the way for precise defect engineering in ultrasmall oxide nanomaterials, with potential uses in catalysis, nanomedicine, radiation shielding, and spintronics.
The paper is available in Nanoscale Advances online. The autor of the Cover Art is Martin Sojka.
