A Novel Route Toward Fabrication of Twofold-Shaped CeO2 Dendrites

Highly uniform twofold-shaped CeO2 dendrites were successfully prepared in large quantities by using an approach that involves the thermal decomposition of the precursor. The precursor with an average size of 10 mu m was prepared from the reaction of Ce(NH4)(2)(NO3)(6) with CO(NH2)(2) at 160 degrees C in a water/diethanolamine (DEA) complex solution, The influence of DEA on dendrite formation is discussed. The dendritic pattern of precursor is almost retained in the as-pre-pared product. The optical absorption spectrum indicates that the CeO2 dendrites have a direct bandgap of 3.42 eV The electrochemical characteristic of the CeO2 dendrites structures have been studied by cyclic voltammetry. It was found that the CeO2 dendrites can greatly improve the electron-transfer ability. (C) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)