TEM was used to assess the size, morphology and crystal structure of the gadolinium-doped titania NPs. TEM was performed using a JEOL JEM-2010 microscope equipped with a LaB6 thermionic electron gun operating at a primary beam energy of 200 keV and an Oxford Instruments INCA X-ray analysis system for carrying out energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). By analyzing the characteristic X-rays produced by the interaction of the primary electron beam with the sample, the elements present in the sample could be determined. TEM specimens were prepared by resuspending the NPs in ethanol and drop casting onto holey carbon-coated grids (Agar Scientific).
The crystal structure of the TiOx NPs was obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a fully automated Siemens D5000 powder diffractometer employing copper Ka radiation (k=0.15406 nm) and a secondary monochromator. The sample was supported on a single crystal of silicon and continuously spun during data collection. The sample was scanned using a step size of 0.05°, between the range of 10°–90° 2θ, and a count time of 12 seconds per step. The crystal phases were determined by comparing the diffraction pattern obtained with standard data from the International Centre of Diffraction Data.
The crystal structure of the TiOx NPs was obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a fully automated Siemens D5000 powder diffractometer employing copper Ka radiation (k=0.15406 nm) and a secondary monochromator. The sample was supported on a single crystal of silicon and continuously spun during data collection. The sample was scanned using a step size of 0.05°, between the range of 10°–90° 2θ, and a count time of 12 seconds per step. The crystal phases were determined by comparing the diffraction pattern obtained with standard data from the International Centre of Diffraction Data.