Synthesis of nano-sized ceria powders by two-emulsion method using sodium hydroxide

In the present study, nano-sized ceria powders were prepared by the two-emulsion method in the presence of aqueous sodium hydroxide. The effect of the ceria precursor concentration and the addition of an aqueous sodium hydroxide on the crystallite size, the size distribution and the morphology of the synthesized powders were investigated. The precipitates were obtained by mixing two water-in-oil emulsions with kerosene containing cerium nitrate aqueous solution and sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. The synthesized ceria powders were characterized by XRD and TEM. The synthesized ceria powders had nearly spherical shape and a uniform crystallite size in a range of 10 to 20 nm depending on the concentration of precursor solution and an addition amount of mineralizer.