Preparation and properties of CeO$_2$ sols stabilized by polyvinyl alcohol

The CeO$_{2}$ sols stabilized by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were obtained from solution of cerium nitrate (III) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, the pH metric method, ultraviolet spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy were used to investigate the compositions and properties of the sols. It was observed that the PVA stabilizes the colloidal solution of cerium dioxide. The stability of the solution depends on the mass content of PVA and pH. The surface of various CeO$_{2}$ particles exhibiting the property of an acceptor interacts with OH groups of PVA. CeO$_{2}$ sol with 5 wt.% PVA and pH 8.55 (particle size 67 nm) has sun protection properties (UVA/UVB = 0.64) and is characterized by low photocatalytic activity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity.