Modulating interfacial defects for dual-enhancing chromaticity and stability of cerium sulfide

To obtain rare earth sulfides with satisfied chromaticity and stability for diverse applications in the field of pigment, a harnessed synthetic molecular strategy for in-situ growth of CePO4 as an interlayer between core Ce2S3 substrate and the outer SiO2 layer is proposed. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and Raman analysis reveal that the transition layer CePO4 significantly reduces the lattice spacing differences and reduces the oxygen activity on the interface, resulting in excellent chromaticity (L∗ ​= ​51.9, a∗ ​= ​45.0, b∗ ​= ​30.0) and stability for γ-Ce2S3@CePO4@SiO2. These insights will advance the fundamental knowledge of core-shell crystal engineering and enable new ways to promote the application of rare earth sulfides.