CeO2 Spherical Crystallites:  Synthesis, Formation Mechanism, Size Control, and Electrochemical Property Study

CeO2 spherical crystallites aggregated by small CeO2 nanoparticles in the diameter range of 5−10 nm were successfully fabricated through a facile surfactant-assisted hydrothermal method. PVP (poly(vinylpyrrolidone)) was applied as surfactant to facilitate the oriented aggregation of small CeO2 nanoparticles into spherical crystallites. The size of as-obtained CeO2 spherical crystallites could be deliberately controlled in the range 100−800 nm by varying synthetic parameters such as the molar ratio of PVP (repeating units) to Ce(NO3)3·6H2O and the concentration of Ce(NO3)3·6H2O solution. The formation mechanism was briefly discussed and the electrochemical properties of as-synthesized CeO2 spherical crystallites were studied by galvanostatic methods. The electrochemical test results show that the as-obtained CeO2 spherical crystallites have promising electrochemical properties that may enable them to be applied as an anode material in lithium ion batteries.