The early stages of crystallite growth of CeO2 obtained from a cerium oxide nitrate

Abstract

An analysis of the microstructure of nanocrystalline cerium oxide produced by thermal decomposition of cerium (IV) oxide nitrate at temperatures in the range 230° to 960 °C is described. Parameters describing the breadths and shape of X-ray diffraction line profiles were obtained by means of pattern decomposition and a method based on the Voigt function was used to obtain information on the temperature dependence of the microstructure. No marked anisotropy in size and strain broadening was observed. It was found that the crystallites are on average spherical, the dimensions increasing significantly with formation temperature, while microstrains decrease with annealing temperature. The results of size determinations were compared with SEM measurements. They suggest a competition between the crystallite growth and “particle” growth processes in the initial sintering of the loosely packed cerium oxide powder.