Facile synthesis of well-defined CeO2 hollow spheres with a tunable pore structure

Herein, SiO2@CeO2 composite microspheres were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal assisted layer-by-layer self-assembly method employing colloid SiO2 as the template, which was fabricated by a typical Stöber method. Monodispersed CeO2 hollow spheres with a narrow size distribution were achieved after etching colloid SiO2 templates through NaOH. The resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier translation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isothermal. Specifically, the shell thickness and the mesoporous structure of the hollow sphere can be easily controlled by changing the concentration of cerium source.