Preparation and characterization of nanometer-scale powders ceria by electrochemical deposition method

Ceria (CeO2) nanoparticles of 10–30 nm in average particle size have been synthesized via electrochemical deposition method in cerium(III) chloride solution with an undivided cell as electrochemical cell and ethanol–acetylacetone as additives. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermal analysis (TG–DTA) are introduced to characterize the samples. The results indicate that the as-prepared powders after being treated at 650 °C are nanocrystalline with the cubic fluorite structure and the sphericity in shape. It is revealed that the size of ceria nanoparticles can be decreased effectively by adding the ethanol–acetylacetone solution. In addition, the possible formed mechanism of CeO2 nanometer-scale powder. The role of additive is also investigated in this paper.