Effect of the ingredient on the structure of flowerlike CeO2 prepared via hydrothermal method

Abstract

The Ce(OH)CO3 with three-dimensional (3D) flower structure has been prepared by the hydrothermal method. The collected flowers consisted of nano-sized petals and deep pores with the large pore volume, thus had high surface area. After calcining Ce(OH)CO3 at 600ºC in air for 6 hours, CeO2 (Ceria) were produced with a flowerlike structure. The CeO2 flowers had a spherical structure with a diameter of 2-8 micrometers, and the mesoporous structure inside of the microspheres had the walls of 20-30 nanometers. The shape, size, and distribution of the mesoporous could be controlled by changing the ingredient quantities. This new material can be used as a ceria-based catalyst for methane reforming to produce hydrogen for solid oxide fuel cells. This paper reports the effect of the ingredient quantities in the hydrothermal process on the formed CeO2 flowers.