Atomistic models for CeO2(111), (110), and (100) nanoparticles, supported on yttrium-stabilized zirconia

Ceria is an important component in three-way catalysts for the treatment of automobile exhaust gases owing to its ability to store and release oxygen, a property known as the oxygen storage capacity. Much effort has been focused on increasing the OSC of ceria, and one avenue of exploration is the ability to fabricate CeO2-based catalysts, which expose reactive surfaces. Here we show how models for a polycrystalline CeO2 thin film, which expose the (111), (110), and dipolar (100) surfaces, can be synthesized. This is achieved by supporting the CeO2 thin film on an yttrium-stabilized zirconia substrate using a simulated amorphization and recrystallization strategy. In particular, the methodology generates models which reveal the atomistic structures present on the surface of the reactive faces and provides details of the grain-boundary structures, defects (vacancies, substitutionals, and clustering), and epitaxial relationships. Such models are an important first step in understanding the active sites at the surface of a catalytic material.