Synthesis and characterization of cerium oxide nano-particles in chloride bath: Effect of the H2O2 concentration and bath temperature on morphology

Cerium oxide has been used extensively for various applications over the past two decades. The use of cerium oxide nanoparticles is beneficial in present applications and can open new avenues for future uses. In this paper, some samples of cerium hydroxide/oxide have been synthesized by cathodic deposition on steel electrode in chloride bath in two electrode systems by the galvanostatic mode. The effects of bath temperature and H2O2 concentration on particle size and morphology were studied. The effect of calcination temperature on the crystallite growth of cerium oxide nano-powders was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The results were characterized by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogramimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM results show that the samples synthesized at low bath temperature have an average size of 40 nm. In the presence of H2O2, the cerium oxide films are adherent and smooth. They present very thin cracks whereas with the increase of H2O2 concentration the size and number of cracks are reduced. The results show that the as-prepared nanoparticles are essentially amorphous and after heat treatment, the obtained oxide product is well crystallized.