Synthesis and characterization of CeCO3OH one-dimensional quadrangular prisms by a simple method

Orthorhombic single-crystal line cerium carbonate hydroxide (CeCO3OH) one-dimensional (1D) quadrangular prisms have been successfully synthesized by a facile sonochemical reaction between cerous nitrate and carbamide in the presence of surfactant polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The products were characterized by Xray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The as-synthesized CeCO3OH have uniform lengths and good dispersion. These one-dimensional CeCO3OH structures are quadrangular prisms with edge length of about 300 nm. The quadrangular prisms have well-resolved edges and their surfaces are very smooth. Interestingly, each end of the prism is cut along the diagonal of underside plane to form two chamfered planes. Furthermore, room-temperature photoluminescence of CeCO3OH samples have also been investigated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.