Cerium(III) nitrate hexahydrate

Cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate is widely used as a source of cerium, especially in the synthesis of micro- or nano-structured ceria (cerium oxide). Because of its high solubility and low decomposition temperature, cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate is an ideal reagent for hydrothermal reactions, sol-gel processing, and co-precipitation and calcination reactions.

Ceria is one of the best studied materials-platforms for catalysis and solid oxide fuel cells. Consequently scientists have developed well-controlled synthetic protocols using cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate for preparing ceria nanoparticles including nano cubes, nanotubes, and nanorods. The tailorable synthesis facilitates using ceria as a catalyst support, for example leveraging the porosity of the microstructure to impregnate metals and metal alloys, or for example synthesizing ceria-based materials like ceria-zirconia.

Cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate is the most common form of cerium nitrate. It is a white-to-yellow crystalline salt, and it is highly soluble in water, alcohol, and acetone, although solutions can appear slightly hazy. Like many trivalent metal nitrates, cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate has a low-melting point of only 57 °C and thermally decomposes at low temperatures too, beginning at 190 °C and proceeding rapidly at 280 °C with complete decomposition at 390-400 °C.