3D flowerlike ceria micro/nanocomposite structure and its application for water treatment and CO removal

A simple and economical route based on ethylene glycol mediated process was developed to synthesize three-dimensional (3D) flowerlike ceria micro/nanocomposite structure using cerium chloride as a reactant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were adopted to investigate the evolution process of ceria precursor, and a two-stage growth process was identified during the morphology evolution. Ceria with the same flowerlike micro/nanocomposite structure was readily obtained by calcination of the ceria precursor. This novel micro/nanocomposite structure held the advantages of both microstructure and nanostructure. Therefore, the as-obtained ceria can be used as not only an effective sorbent for the removal of pollutants in water treatment but also as an excellent support for gold nanoparticles to remove CO by catalytic oxidation, demonstrating a promising potential in environmental remediation.