Cerium Oxide

• Cerium(IV) oxide, also known as ceric oxide, ceric dioxide, ceria, cerium
oxide or cerium dioxide, is an oxide of the rare-earth metal cerium. It is a
pale yellow-white powder with the chemical formula CeO2. Cerium occurs
naturally as a mixture with other rare-earth elements in its principal
ores bastnaesite and monazite.
• Cerium is the second member and the most reactive element in the
lanthanide series. Being electropositive in nature, cerium exists in dual
oxidation modes, Ce3+ and Ce4+.
• The Ce4+ oxidation state is usually considered more stable than 3+ due to
Ce(4+) electronic structure [Xe]4f0being more stable state as empty than
[Xe]4f1 for Ce3+.
• Cerium usually has two types of oxides named cerium dioxide (CeO2) and
cerium sesquioxide (Ce2O3), but in a larger context, CeO2 is used as cerium
oxide due to higher stability over Ce2O3.
 Crystal Structure
• Cerium dioxide (CeO2) has a fluorite structure (FCC) and it consists of a
simple cubic oxygen sub‐lattice with the cerium ions occupying alternate
cube centres.
• Cerium oxide can accommodate high oxygen deficiency by the substitution
of lower valent elements on the cation sub‐lattice.
• Due to this property, high oxygen ion conductivities are expected, which
indicate towards its potential applications as a solid electrolyte in solid
oxide fuel cells
 Some basic Properties
• Insoluble in Water
• Density : 7.215 g/cm3
• Melting Point : 2,400 °C (4,350 °F; 2,670 K)
• Boiling Point : 3,500 °C (6,330 °F; 3,770 K)
• Magnetic Susceptibility : +26.0·10−6 cm3/mol
• Bandgap Energy : 3.19eV
 Cerium as Electrode Material
• Though RuO2 is the gold standard for pseudocapacitor materials, the high
toxicity and even higher cost has limited its largescale commercialization.
• As a result, other redox active metal oxides that can potentially replace
RuO2 have predominantly been tested as pseudocapacitor material; these
include: MnO2, NiO, CoOx, V2O5, etc.
• Besides metal oxides, various materials like metal chalcogenides, MXenes,
polymers, and rare earth oxides are also being tested as alternate active
material for pseudocapacitors.
• One such material, i.e., cerium oxide (CeO2), a rare earth oxide, is gaining
a lot of attention due to its surplus availability, very low toxicity, highly
reversible oxidation states (3+/4+), no phase change at operational
conditions and low cost.
• Though nano CeO2 is a relatively new supercapacitor material, its unique
properties have found extensive use in a wide range of other applications;
like catalytic converters, oxygen storage, solid oxide fuel cells, and
biosensors.
• Like many other metal oxides, CeO2, a ceramic material, suffers from an
inherently low electrical conductivity.
• Thus, nano CeO2 has been used as supercapacitor material, often in
combination with carbonaceous materials like graphene, reduced
graphene oxide (rGO), graphene oxide, nitrogen doped reduced graphene
oxide and carbon nanotubes.
 Applications
Being technologically important functional material, ceria has remarkable
applications in many diverse fields.
• Solid oxide fuel cells:
• Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are considered to have great potential in
providing clean and reliable electric power; therefore, research in this area
attracts great attention in recent years. Many reports suggest that
ceria‐based ion conductors possess huge resistance to carbon deposition
and have potential to allow unstoppable supply of dry hydrocarbon fuels.
• Catalytic applications:
• The tendency of oxygen uptake and release of ceria due to reversible
transition between Ce3+ and Ce4+ makes this material a key ingredient for
catalytic applications and reactions. Various nano‐micro ceria structures
have been fabricated, and their catalytic applications are extensively
reported in recent years. Carbon Monoxide Oxidation is one such example
• Photocatalysis:
• Globally, efficient visible light photocatalytic water splitting is an active
area of research for renewable energy as well as water and air
purification. A novel and efficient Au‐supported CeO2 nanoparticle‐based
photocatalysts were fabricated, and its visible light activities were
reported.