Controllable assembly of CeO2 micro/nanospheres with adjustable size and their application in Cr(VI) adsorption

• Controllable assembled CeO2 micro/nanospheres have been simply synthesized.
• Size control is realized by adjusting stirring-time before hydrothermal process.
• The CeO2 micro/nanospheres show high specific surface area up to 182 m2 g−1.
• The CeO2 micro/nanospheres exhibit superior performance in Cr(VI) adsorption.

CeO2 micro/nanospheres with perfect spherical morphology, large specific surface area, high porosity, high stability and adjustable diameter were hydrothermally synthesized from a simple system, and the stirring-time before hydrothermal process was found to be the key factor for the final particle size control. The CeO2 spheres with diameters from ∼800 nm to ∼50 nm could be harvested by controllable synthesis. And the highest specific surface area of these CeO2 spheres could achieve 182 m2 g−1. Moreover, CeO2 spheres with higher specific surface areas (182 m2 g−1 and 117 m2 g−1) showed excellent performance in removal of heavy metal ion Cr(VI) from the aqueous solution. The Cr(VI) removal efficiencies could reach up to 94%.

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