Influence of mineralizer agents on the growth of crystalline CeO 2 nanospheres by the microwave-hydrothermal method

Cystalline ceria (CeO2) nanoparticles have been synthesized by a simple and fast microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) under NaOH, KOH, and NH4OH mineralizers added to a cerium ammonium nitrate aqueous solution. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transformed-IR and Raman spectroscopies. Rietveld refinement reveals a cubic structure with a space group Fm3m while infrared data showed few traces of nitrates. Field emission scanning microcopy (FEG-SEM) revealed a homogeneous size distribution of nanometric CeO2 nanoparticles. The MAH process in KOH and NaOH showed most effective to dehydrate the adsorbed water and decrease the hydrogen bonding effect leaving a weakly agglomerated powder of hydrated ceria. TEM micrographs of CeO2 synthesized under MAH conditions reveal particles well-dispersed and homogeneously distributed. The MAH enabled cerium oxide to be synthesized at 100 °C for 8 min. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Chemical synthesis, Crystal structure, Electron microscopy, Microwave, Nanoparticle, Adsorbed water, Agglomerated powders, Ammonium nitrate, Cerium oxides, Cubic structure, FEG-SEM, Field emission scanning, Field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier, Hydrogen-bonding effects, Infrared data, Microwave-assisted, Microwave-hydrothermal methods, Nanometric CeO, Space Groups, Transmission electron microscopy tem, Well-dispersed, XRD, Ammonium compounds, Cerium, Cerium compounds, Enamels, Hydrogen bonds, Microwaves, Nanoparticles, Raman spectroscopy, Rietveld refinement, Transmission electron microscopy, X ray powder diffraction, Synthesis (chemical)