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Thermally Stable Surfactant-Free Ceria Nanocubes in Silica Aerogel

Caddeo, Francesco, Casu, Alberto, Loche, Danilo, Morgan, Lucy M., Mountjoy, Gavin, O’Regan, Colm, Casula, Maria F., Hayama, Shusaku, Corrias, Anna, Falqui, Andrea and others. (2021) Thermally Stable Surfactant-Free Ceria Nanocubes in Silica Aerogel. Journal of Colloids and Interface Science, 583 . pp. 376-384. ISSN 0021-9797. (doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.09.044) (KAR id:82981)

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Abstract

Surfactant-mediated chemical routes allow one to synthesize highly engineered shape- and size-controlled nanocrystals. However, the occurrence of capping agents on the surface of the nanocrystals is undesirable for selected applications. Here, a novel approach to the production of shape-controlled nanocrystals which exhibit high thermal stability is demonstrated. Ceria nanocubes obtained by surfactant-mediated synthesis are embedded inside a highly porous silica aerogel and thermally treated to remove the capping agent. Powder X-ray Diffraction and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy show the homogeneous dispersion of the nanocubes within the aerogel matrix. Remarkably, both the size and the shape of the ceria nanocubes are retained not only throughout the aerogel syntheses but also upon thermal treatments up to 900 °C, while avoiding their agglomeration. The reactivity of ceria is measured by in situ High-Energy Resolution Fluorescence Detected - X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy at the Ce L3 edge, and shows the reversibility of redox cycles of ceria nanocubes when they are embedded in the aerogel. This demonstrates that the enhanced reactivity due to their prominent {100} crystal facets is preserved. In contrast, unsupported ceria nanocubes begin to agglomerate as soon as the capping agent decomposes, leading to a degradation of their reactivity already at 275 °C.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.09.044
Uncontrolled keywords: Ceria, Nanocubes, Capping agents, SiO2 Aerogel
Subjects: Q Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Anna Corrias
Date Deposited: 17 Sep 2020 11:19 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Jul 2023 11:06 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/82981 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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