Chemical microengineering in sol-gel derived fluoride and lanthanide modified ceria materials

The effect of the incorporation of rare earth cations and fluoride anions into the ceria fluorite lattice has been studied. Ternary Ln-Ce-O (Ln = La, Pr, Nd) oxide gels of target Ln: Ce ratios of 1 :4, 1 : 1.86 and 1 : 1, with and without added fluoride ion, have been prepared, and the oxide materials obtained after calcination at 1223 K examined. Incorporation of Ln results in the formation of Ln/CeO2 solid solutions at low Ln levels, but a microscopic mixture of two cubic phases, pure ceria and a Ln-Ce-O phase of composition Ce0.35La0.65O1.67, is obtained when a 1 : 1 ratio is employed. With fluoride pure CeO2 and LaF3 are the only phases present and no mixed Ln-Ce-O phase is formed. TEM shows that the microstructure of this material is complex. The nature of analogous Pr- and Nd-substituted ceria materials is also described.