Impact of NaF mineralizer on cerium-containing nanoparticles synthesized by hydrothermal process

We report the preparation of cerium-containing nanoparticles by a simple yet efficient hydrothermal synthesis process using cerium resource and NaF mineralizer with no surfactant or template. We demonstrate that morphology and chemistry of the synthesized CeO₂ and CeF₃ nanomaterials can be manipulated via tuning concentration of the mineralizer NaF alone. The synthesis mechanism, chemical evolution, and optical properties of the harvested nanomaterials have also been investigated. The ceria and its hybrid system are found to exhibit an excellent UV-shielding capability, which provides further evidence that the mineralizer NaF is critical for governing the morphology and properties of the cerium-containing nanomaterials. Such a facile method to synthesize the functional nano-crystallites with tunable morphology and chemistry by tailoring the concentration of mineralizer alone should be applicable to other types of nanomaterials and relevant for a wide range of applications.