Rapid hydrothermal synthesis of CeO2 nanoparticles with (2 2 0)-dominated surface and its CO catalytic performance

•We obtained CeO2 nanoparticles with the major exposure of the CeO2 (2 2 0) surface.•The CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized through a one-step rapid hydrothermal process for only 100 min.•The synthesized CeO2 nanoparticles possessed good catalytic activity in the CO conversion.

Uniform CeO2 nanoparticles with diameter in the range of 13–17 nm were synthesized through a one-step rapid hydrothermal strategy. The characterization indicated that (2 2 0) surface is the majority of the exposed CeO2 surfaces. The reaction conditions including reactant amounts, reaction time were studied and optimized. The addition of hexamethylenetetramine is the key to the formation of (2 2 0)-dominated surface structure. The product shows better catalytic performance on CO conversion corresponding to the result of temperature-programmed reduction under a H2 environment.

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