Combustion synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline CeO2-based powders via ethylene glycol–nitrate process

Nanocrystalline ceria-based powders [CeO2, (YO1.5)0.2(CeO2)1.8, (NdO1.5)0.2(CeO2)1.8, (SmO1.5)0.2(CeO2)1.8, (GdO1.5)0.2(CeO2)1.8] have been prepared using combustion synthesis with ethylene glycol as a novel fuel and nitrate as an oxider. An interpretation based on an adiabatic flame temperature, for different fuel-to-oxidant ratios, has been proposed for the nature of combustion and its correlation with the powder characteristics. The pure CeO2 powders synthesized by using different ethylene glycol–nitrate ratios have been characterized by X-ray diffractionmetry, transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The effects of calcination temperature and doping on the as-synthesized powders have been investigated by XRD.