Combustion synthesis of cerium dioxide from cerium(III) acetate in a multi-element diffusion flame

摘要

Nanoparticles with controlled microstructure and composition are critical to establishing and understanding the links between the nanoparticle properties and bulk material performance, particularly in health and toxicity studies and in developing energy storage materials. Combustion synthesis provides the means to produce nanomaterials with well controlled properties such as crystalline phase, particle size distribution and morphology. This work presents the results of an initial study to synthesize cerium dioxide (ceria, CeO_2) nanopowders using combustion methods. Solid-phase cerium(III) acetate is used as the precursor for ceria and fed into a multi-element diffusion flame burner fueled with hydrogen and oxygen. Crystalline phase and average crystallite size were determined using X-ray diffraction spectra. The effects of the burner operating conditions on the nanopowder characteristics are investigated.