Oxygen nonstoichiometry of nanosized ceria powder

Oxygen nonstoichiometry of nanocrystalline ceria powder with a particle size of about 12 nm was measured by thermogravimetric techniques as a function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure and synthetic route. The measured oxygen release/uptake from the samples under isothermal or isobaric conditions applied in this study are found to be predominantly due to variations in the surface nonstoichiometry. Its oxygen partial pressure dependence indicates the presence of surface oxygen vacancies in different ionization states in addition to segregated impurities.