Effect of morphology and size on the thermodynamic stability of cerium oxide nanoparticles: Experiment and molecular dynamics calculation

Abstract

Cerium oxide nanoparticles have unique catalytic and oxygen storage capacity properties. In this work, the morphology and size of cerium oxide nanoparticles were experimentally and theoretically investigated. For the synthesis of nanoparticles, the laser ablation method was used. The analysis of the size and morphological characteristics of nanoparticles was performed using transmission electron microscopy. Using the method of molecular dynamics, we reveal the limiting dimensional transition from octahedral morphology to a spherical form in cerium oxide nanoparticles. The results obtained will be relevant for the controlled synthesis of nanostructured materials based on cerium oxide.