Cerium(III) nitrate hexahydrate

Cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate is a white-to-yellowcrystalline salt, which is hygroscopic and air-sensitive. Cerium (III) nitratehexahydrate is highly soluble in water, alcohol, and acetone. Cerium (III)nitrate hexahydrate melts at 57 °C and begins to thermally decompose at190 °Cwith complete decomposition to the oxide by 400 °C.

Cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate is widely used as a sourceof cerium, especially in the synthesis of micro- or nano-structured ceria(cerium oxide). Researchers leverage the high solubility and low decompositiontemperature of cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate in hydrothermal reactions,sol-gel processing, and co-precipitation/calcination reactions to synthesizeceria and cerium-compounds. For example, for one study materials scientistsprepared a two-dimensional cobalt-doped ceria nanosheet by co-precipitating andcalcining cerium nitrate and cobalt acetate. As another example, researchersused the high solubility of cerium nitrate to grow crystals of two-dimensionalrare-earth double perovskites. Researchers have also used cerium nitrate to formcomposites, such as graphene-ceria nanoparticle composites and TiO₂/CeO₂nanocomposites, utilizing cerium’s (III/IV) redox chemistry forlight-absorption and photocatalysis. One example, that shows the maturematerials engineering of cerium (III) nitrate chemistry, is a study that uses acalcium-doped cerium nanotube composite with lithiumbis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) poly(ethylene oxide) for asolid-state lithium-ion electrolyte. The Ca-CeO₂ nanotubes, which achievehigher concentrations of oxygen vacancies than undoped CeO₂, were made byelectrospinning from a solution of cerium nitrate and calcium nitrate withpolyvinylpyrrolidone, which is removed by pyrolysis in a final calcination.