Engineering well-defined rare earth oxide-based nanostructures for catalyzing C1 chemical reactions

C1 chemical reactions have attracted extensive attention in recent decades due to their significant roles in energy transfer and utilization and environmental protection. Among the various catalytic materials, rare earth oxide-based nanocatalysts exhibit superior performances in C1 chemical reactions because of their flexible electronic structures and abundant defect states. In this review, we summarize the nanostructural engineering and applications of rare earth oxide-based nanomaterials with well-defined compositions, crystal phases and shapes for efficiently catalyzing C1 chemical reactions. Initially, we introduce the structural features of rare earth oxides. Subsequently, we present common synthetic approaches and nanostructural engineering strategies toward the preparation of rare earth oxide nanomaterials with well-defined structures. Further, we discuss the structure-function correlation of well-defined rare earth oxide-based nanocatalysts in some important C1 chemical reactions including CO oxidation, water-gas shift reaction, CO2 hydrogenation, methane oxidation and methanol oxidation. Finally, we prospect the challenges and future research trends in this promising field.