Existence of three-phase interlines on a cerium dioxide surface

Abstract

The three-phase interline described by a statistical continuum limit (i.e. quasi-boundary) has been postulated to gain a deeper insight into the reduction of CeO2 to CeO1.940 in a LiCl-KCl eutectic melt. Fabrication of a CeO2 superstructure by a condensed-phase method provided a CeO2 (111) surface at the nanoscale, which allowed the three-phase interline to be identified given previously reported quantum confinement effects in quasi-stoichiometric CeO2 nanoparticles. Also, the CeO2 superstructure displays the same crystal lattice planes as a bulk CeO2 grain but the triply degenerate Raman-active peak of the grain is higher by a factor of ~ 2.5 with a wider full width at half maximum.