Facile fabrication of a cerium oxide nanorod.

Abstract

Nanorods are one-dimensional structures that possess interesting physical and electrical properties and have potential applications in various areas. Cerium oxide, a very abundant rare earth element, is widely utilized in catalysts of exhaust systems, chemical abrasives, electrical devices, oxidant semiconductor devices, UV adsorbents, and fluorescence emitting materials. Shape control is important for controlling the overall shape and quality of the nanorod during synthesis. However, most of the shape control studies of cerium oxide nanomaterials in the literature have been performed under high temperature and high pressure conditions, which impede industrial mass production. In this study, we describe a facile synthesis method for producing Ce(OH)3 nanorods with different diameters through the application of the common ion effect principle using NH+, Cl-, and OH- ions. The resulting Ce(OH)3 rods were dried to produce the corresponding cerium oxide products. Consequently, a one-pot reaction under mild conditions allowed for the production of high-quality nanorods after much shorter reaction times, with the additional natural release of counter ions under reaction equilibrium. The shape and physicochemical properties were characterized using various analytical methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy.