Synthesis of highly uniform ceria nanosheets by carbon dioxide carbonization and their growth mechanism

Based on the excellent properties and potential applications of nano-ceria with special morphology, the synthesis of nano-ceria has attracted more and more attention. In this paper, the carbon dioxide carbonization method is introduced into the preparation of nano rare earth oxides. Ce2(CO3)3Δ6H2O nanosheets with a uniform morphology and a thickness of about 180 ​nm were synthesized by carbonization precipitation under the pH ​= ​5.0 and cerium chloride concentration of 0.3 ​mol/L. It is shown that Oriented attachment (OA) and Ostwald ripening (OR) mechanism coexist during the growth of cerium carbonate nanosheets. And highly uniform ceria nanosheets with cubic phase fluorite structure which composed of 50–100 ​nm crystal grains and has a particle size distribution of 0.59 can be obtained by calcining cerium carbonate at 400 ​°C for 2 ​h. The preparation of ceria nanosheets by carbon dioxide carbonization has the advantages of simple operation, mild conditions and low cost, which would provide a effective reference for preparing other kinds of nano rare earth compounds.