Hierarchically nanoporous ceria nanoparticles with a high-surface area: synthesis, characterization, and their catalytic activity.

A redox route based on ethylene glycol mediated process was developed to synthesize hierarchically nanoporpous ceria nanoparticles (ceria HNPNPs). The synthesized ceria HNPNPs are composed of building blocks fabricated with cubic ceria nanocrystals of several nanometers in diameter. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to investigate the evolution process of ceria precursor, and a two-step growth process was suggested for the morphology evolution. The synthesized ceria HNPNPs exhibit high surface area, which lead to high catalytic activity for CO oxidation.