Abstract
We studied the structure of coarse and nano-scale powders of CeO2 using pulsed neutron scattering. The diffraction data were analyzed using Rietveld refinement, and were also Fourier-transformed to obtain the pair-distribution function (PDF). The Frenkel type oxygen defects consisting of vacancies in the oxygen sublattice and oxygen ions in the octahedral interstitial sites of the fluorite structure were observed in cerium oxide for the first time. The interstitial oxygen ions were found to recombine with vacancies when the sample underwent thermal treatment at 1073 K. We suggest that these defects are directly involved in the oxygen storage mechanism of ceria used in automotive catalytic converters.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 185-190 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Materials Research Society Symposium - Proceedings |
| Volume | 549 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1998 MRS Fall Meeting - The Symposium 'Advanced Catalytic Materials-1998' - Boston, MA, USA Duration: Nov 30 1998 → Dec 3 1998 |