Hydrothermal synthesis of Nd2O3 nanorods

Hexagonal-phase Nd(OH)3 nanorods were produced by a hydrothermal method. The nanorods were converted to NdOOH by annealing at 350 °C and to hexagonal-phase Nd2O3 after further annealing at 900 °C. Their physicochemical properties were fully characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction crystallography, thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The CO and hydrogen reduction profiles with respect to the temperature were also examined.