A formation mechanism of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide
(CeO2), a versatile nanomaterial, has been unveiled by scientists from the
Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the University of New South
Wales in Sydney, Australia. The research results were published in the
scientific journal Chemistry – A European Journal (DOI:
10.1002/chem.201204101). This finding potentially simplifies and alleviates the
existing synthetic processes of nanocrystalline CeO2 production.
Nanocrystalline CeO2 particles are widely used, for example,
in catalysts for hazardous gas treatment, in electrodes for solid oxide fuel
cells, in polishing materials for advanced integrated circuits, in sunscreen
cosmetics, and in such medical applications as artificial superoxide dismutase.
Current industrial syntheses of nanocrystalline CeO2 are based on sol-gel
processes followed by thermal treatment and/or the addition of accelerant
reagents. Any further improvement of the synthetic strategy for CeO2 nanocrystals
requires a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in their formation
at the atomic scale.