Glass in the system 5In2O3.94Na2B4O7 was fabricated via a melt quenching technique. The amorphous nature of the quenched glass was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The infrared spectrum shows no boroxol ring formation in the structure of this glass. Differential thermal analysis shows a glass transition temperature of 696 oC and a crystallization temperature of 1151 oC. A cerium–zirconium mixed oxide Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 and Eu-doped cerium-zirconium mixed oxide were obtained by a solid-state method. Then the glass powder and Eu-doped cerium-zirconium mixed oxide were mixed. The mixture was heated in a crucible. The glass-ceramic sample was obtained by pouring the melts onto stainless steel plates. The samples obtained were annealed at 450 oC for 1 h to remove the thermal strain. Gas phase catalytic oxidation of toluene was studied over these nanostructures. The results showed that the catalytic activity of Eu0.01Ce0.74Zr0.25O1.995 was higher than Ce0.75Zr0.25O2 for conversion of toluene. Differential thermal analysis for a glass-ceramic sample shows a glass transition temperature of 648 oC and a crystallization temperature of 1134 oC. A scanning electron microscopy study of the glass-ceramic indicates that the crystallized glass consists of crystals with an average diameter of about 86 nm dispersed in glassy regions.

Keywords: Glass, Nanostructure, Incorporation method, Cerium–zirconium.