Cerium-Doped Oxide-Based Materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

Cerium is a rare-earth metal commonly used as a dopant in various metal oxides to enhance their performances or provide optoelectronic properties. Cerium oxide (ceria) is particularly valuable owing to its unique properties and applications in various fields, such as biomedical research, photovoltaics, and industrial catalytic processes. This review focuses on the use of cerium and ceria doping in the synthesis of SiO2 and ZnO. Studies have shown that Ce-doped SiO2 thin films exhibit luminescence properties and proton shielding capabilities, and that Ce-doped ZnO has potential applications in gas sensors. In this review, we highlight the potential for controlling the luminescence and optical characteristics of these materials via cerium doping, opening up possibilities for various technological advancements and potential applications of cosmic ray shielding in space photovoltaics.