Facile synthesis of well-defined CeO2 hollow spheres with a tunable pore structure

Herein, SiO2@CeO2 composite microspheres were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal assisted layer-by-layer self-assembly method employing colloid SiO2 as the template, which was fabricated by a typical Stober method. Monodispersed CeO2 hollow spheres with a narrow size distribution were achieved after etching colloid SiO2 templates through NaOH. The resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier translation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Xray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isothermal. Specifically, the shell thickness and the mesoporous structure of the hollow sphere can be easily controlled by changing the concentration of cerium source. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.