β-Cyclodextrin-assisted preparation of hierarchical walnut-like CeOHCO3 and CeO2 mesocrystals

The hierarchical walnut-like CeOHCO₃ mesocrystals were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method under low temperature with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as assistant agent. The hierarchical walnut-like CeO₂ mesocrystals were obtained by thermal decomposition of CeOHCO₃ mesocrystals. The crystal phase, morphology, and structure of CeOHCO₃ and CeO₂ mesocrystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The time-dependent experimental results indicated that the morphology transformation from shuttle-like to walnut-like and the crystal phase transformation from orthorhombic to hexagonal simultaneously occurred in the formation processes of CeOHCO₃ mesocrystals. On the basis of the morphological and crystal phase evolution processes, the formation mechanism of hierarchical walnut-like CeOHCO₃ mesocrystals, including dissolution-recrystallization processes, was discussed. β-CD was believed to play an important role in the formation of the hierarchical walnut-like CeOHCO₃ mesocrystals. The effects of reaction temperature, β-CD amount, and concentration of reactants on the morphologies of the products were systematically studied. CeO₂ mesocrystals exhibited the distinct red-shift phenomenon in UV-vis absorption spectra.