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A Metastable Crystalline Phase in Two‐Dimensional Metallic Oxide Nanoplates
Author(s) -
Liu Cong,
Zheng Lirong,
Song Qian,
Xue Zhenjie,
Huang Chuanhui,
Liu Lu,
Qiao Xuezhi,
Li Xiao,
Liu Keyan,
Wang Tie
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201812911
Subject(s) - tetragonal crystal system , materials science , metastability , phase (matter) , cerium oxide , transmission electron microscopy , oxide , metal , cerium , nanoparticle , surface energy , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , electron diffraction , diffraction , crystallography , chemical physics , chemistry , optics , metallurgy , composite material , physics , organic chemistry , engineering
A simple method was adopted in which ultrathin cerium oxide nanoplates (<1.4 nm) were synthesized to increase the surface atomic content, allowing transformation from a face‐centered cubic ( fcc ) phase to a body‐centered tetragonal ( bct ) phase. Three types of cerium oxide nanoparticles of different thicknesses (1.2 nm ultrathin nanoplates, 2.2 nm nanoplates, and 5.4 nm nanocubes) were examined using transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The metastable bct phase was observed only in ultrathin nanoplates. Thermodynamic energy analysis confirmed that the surface energy of the ultrathin nanoplates is the cause of the remarkable stabilization of the metastable bct phase. The mechanism of surface energy regulation can be expanded to other metallic oxides, thus providing a new means for manipulating and stabilizing novel materials under ambient conditions that otherwise would not be recovered.