Hydrothermal Synthesis of Cerium Fluoride Hollow Nanostructures in a Controlled Growth Microenvironment

Hollow nanostructures have attracted increasing attention due to the unique properties and potential applications in many fields such as drug delivery, biomedical agents, energy storage, and reaction containers. In this paper, we report the preparation of cerium fluoride (CeF 3 ) hollow nanostructures including nanocages, nanorings, nanococoons, and circular hollow disks through a facile hydrothermal process. The morphologies (hollow or solid) and cross sections (hexagonal or circular) of as-prepared nanostructures are dependent on the hydrothermal temperatures. All the precursors including KBrO 3 , Ce(IV) ions, H 2 SO 4 , and organic reducer (for example, citric acid or malonic acid), are necessary agents for the formation of CeF 3 hollow nanostructures. On the basis of these experimental results, it is proposed that the growth microenvironment of CeF 3 products is controlled by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillating reaction, and the obtained hollow nanostructures could be regarded as the replicas of spatial patterns formed in the unstirred bromate-citric acid-Ce(IV)-H 2 SO 4 oscillating system. The strong and uniform blue light emission of CeF 3 hollow nanostructures implies their potential applications in light-emitting devices.