Synthesis of CeO₂ nanoparticles with different morphologies and their properties as peroxidase mimic

The overall objective of this work was to identify and determine the controlling factors of catalytic activity of CeO₂ nanoparticles with different properties. Therefore, four kinds of CeO₂ nanoparticles are successfully synthesized and used as peroxidase mimics. The results reveal that the catalytic activity is related to specific surface area and surface oxygen (O_sur) content. For different CeO₂ nanoparticles, specific surface area is the leading factor of catalytic activity. The catalytic activity increases with the increasing specific surface area. If the CeO₂ nanoparticles have similar specific surface area, the less O_sur contains, the lower catalytic activity will be. Meanwhile, crystallinity is not the influence factor of catalytic activity. Bamboo-like CeO₂ (B-CeO₂) nanoparticles show excellent catalytic activity and the reaction conditions are optimized. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of B-CeO₂ nanoparticles decreases very slightly after 15 cycles of the catalysis experiment. Therefore, B-CeO₂ nanoparticles can serve as effective recyclable peroxidase mimics.