Preparation and characterization of high specific surface area Ce 0.5Zr0.5O2 mixed oxide

A high specific surface area Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 mixed oxide has been prepared by means of a co-precipitation method with Ce(NO3)3 and Zr(NO3)4 as raw materials. Experimental results show that specific surface area of the Ce 0.5Zr0.5O2 mixed oxide is largely affected by the amount of surfactants added, pH and ageing time. Specific surface area was up to 279.69m2/g at 70% of surfactants, pH 9.5, ageing time 120 h and calcination at 923K for 2 h. Analysis by FT-IR indicates that the remaining surfactants are removed after calcination at 923K for 2 h. There are two weightless phenomena in the TG curve and two heat-absorptive peaks in the DTA curve. The first heat-absorptive peak is the desorption process of adsorbed water and acetone at 373K and weightless ratio of 7.43%, and the second peak is the decomposition of the surfactants at 773K. The N2 adsorption-desorption experiment indicates that all the materials are porous and the N2 isotherms of all powders are of type IV, typical of a mesoporous sample. The XRD analysis shows the diffraction peak of Ce 0.5Zr0.5O2 mixed oxide between 2θ 29.1°, 34° and 48.5°. The Ce0.5Zr0.5O 2 mixed oxide possesses even grain size and stable crystalline structure, and its specific surface areas are 230.69, 120.55 and 53.53 m 2/g after calcination at 973, 1073 and 1173 K for 2 h, respectively.