Physical Chemistry Commons^™

Nanostructured Cerium Oxide Based Catalysts: Synthesis, Physical Properties, And Catalytic Performance, Yunyun Zhou

Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cerium oxide is an extensively used industrial catalyst with applications as diverse as catalysts for automobile exhaust, petroleum cracking and organic chemicals synthesis. The catalytic activity of cerium oxide is dependent upon its structural properties, especially the oxygen vacancy defects. While recent advances in characterization techniques have dramatically improved our understanding of cerium oxide functionality, many atomic features in cerium oxide contributing to the overall catalytic reactivity are not yet well-understood. This dissertation focuses on the structural studies of catalytically active cerium oxides with different compositions, phases and morphologies, and their utilizations to establish fundamental understandings of cerium oxide based …