氧化铈形貌对Au/CeO2催化剂催化氧化CO反应活性的影响

采用水热合成法制备了形貌规则的纳米氧化铈颗粒,分别为棒状、立方体和多面体,通过溶胶沉积法将金颗粒沉积到不同形貌氧化铈表面制得了Au/CeO2催化剂.考察了催化剂载体的不同形貌对CO催化氧化反应活性的影响.实验结果表明,棒状(110 100)和多面体(111 100)氧化铈作为载体时的催化剂活性比立方体(100)作为载体时的活性高.在低温段,多面体氧化铈作为载体的催化剂表现出较高活性,而在高温范围,棒状氧化铈作为载体的催化剂的催化活性最好.     

CO氧化反应中的二氧化铈晶面效应

二氧化铈(CeO2)因其具有较强的储放氧能力,被用作氧化还原反应的催化材料.自2005年,研究者制备出形貌可控的CeO2纳米棒、纳米立方块和纳米多面体,在CeO2形貌控制及构效关系研究方面取得长足发展.各种结构表征手段包括原位拉曼(in situ Raman)、原位傅里叶变换红外光谱(in situ DRIFTS)、核磁共振(NMR)和电镜等被用来研究不同形貌CeO2的表面结构和在催化反应中的活性差异.一般的活性规律为CeO2纳米棒({110}/{100})>纳米立方块({100})>纳米多面体({111}/{100}).近年来,负载型CeO2催化剂因其能稳定分散金属,通过金属-载体相互作用调控界面电子结构并表现出优异的催化活性而引起广泛关注,其中晶面效应在负载型CeO2催化体系中显得较为复杂.铜铈催化剂被认为是非常经济有效的CO氧化催化剂,然而由于制备和测试条件差异导致的CeO2晶面对铜铈催化剂催化CO氧化活性的影响规律并不统一.我们之前的研究工作发现纳米棒CeO2-{110}晶面上的Cu-[Ox]-Ce结构不利于形成Cu((40)),而纳米颗粒CeO2-{111}晶面上的CuOx团簇很容易形成Cu((40)),从而对CO催化氧化极为有利,这与纯载体CeO2的规律并不一致.与此同时,对于铜负载的CeO2纳米棒(NR)及纳米立方体(NC)所体现的性质及活性差异缺少系统深入的研究.在上述工作基础上,我们采用沉积沉淀法在CeO2 NR及CeO2 NC上负载1%wt的铜分别得到1Cu CeNR和1Cu CeNC,并对所合成催化剂的结构和吸附性能进行了表征.高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)照片显示,CeO2纳米棒主要暴露{110}晶面,而CeO2纳米立方体以{100}晶面为主.催化测试结果表明,1Cu CeNC在130℃时CO已完全转化为CO2,而相同温度下1Cu Ce NR只有50%转化.进一步通过氢气程序升温还原(H2-TPR)和一氧化碳程序升温脱附(CO-TPD)分析发现, 1Cu Ce NC催化剂具有较强的还原性且表面氧物种含量高.此外, X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和in situ DRIFTS研究表明, 1Cu Ce NC促进Cu((40))位点生成,导致活性Cu((40))-CO物种增多,这些优异的化学性质导致其具有较高的催化CO氧化活性.     

Raman analysis of mode softening in nanoparticle CeO(2-δ) and Au-CeO(2-δ) during CO oxidation

Oxygen vacancy levels are monitored during the oxidation of CO by CeO(2-δ) nanorods and Au-CeO(2-δ) nanorods, nanocubes, and nanopolyhedra by using Raman scattering. The first-order CeO(2) F(2g) peak near 460 cm(-1) decreases when this reaction is fast (fast reduction and relatively slow reoxidation of the surface), because of the lattice expansion that occurs when Ce(3+) replaces Ce(4+) during oxygen vacancy creation. This shift correlates with reactivity for CO oxidation. Increases in the oxygen deficit δ as large as ~0.04 are measured relative to conditions when the ceria is not reduced.     

Controlled synthesis and self-assembly of CeO2 nanocubes

CeO2 nanocubes (and nanorods) enclosed by six {200} planes with controlled sizes have been prepared through a facile one-pot method. The nanocubes have a strong tendency to assemble into 2D and 3D arrays with regular patterns on a substrate, which is probably driven by the dipole-dipole interaction of polar {200} planes. The possible formation mechanism of the nanocubes has been put forward as the oriented aggregation mediated precursor growth. It is possible to use the synthesized nanocubes as building blocks to achieve {200}-perfect-oriented monolayers or thickness-controlled films and to apply the preparative method in the incorporation of heterogeneous atoms or nanoparticles for semiconductor doping or heterogeneous nanostructures.     

Oxidising CO to CO2 using ceria nanoparticles

We calculate, using simulated amorphisation and recrystallisation (A&R), that ceria (CeO2) nanoparticles, about 8 nm in diameter, comprise a high concentration of labile surface oxygen species, which we suggest will help promote the oxidation of CO to CO2. In particular, the ceria nanoparticle contains a high proportion of reactive {100} surfaces, surface steps and corner sites. When reduced to CeO1.95, the associated Ce3+ species and oxygen vacancies decorate step, corner and {100} sites in addition to plateau positions on {111}. The energetics of CO oxidation to CO2, catalysed by a ceria nanoparticle, is calculated to be lower compared with CO oxidation associated with the lowest energy surface (i.e. CeO2(111)) of the corresponding 'bulk' material. Our calculated morphologies for the ceria nanoparticles are in accord with experiment.     

α-Fe2O3表面结构对NH3选择性催化还原NO活性的影响

通过水热法合成了两种具有不同形貌的α-Fe2O3纳米棒和纳米立方体,并探索了它们的中温NH3选择性催化还原(NH3-SCR)NO的活性.NH3-SCR测试表明α-Fe2O3纳米棒具有更高的催化活性.X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、场发射扫描电镜(FE-SEM)和高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)结构分析表明:α-Fe2O3纳米棒暴露有高表面能的{110}活性面,而纳米立方体暴露的主要是低表面能的{012}晶面.H2程序升温还原(H2-TPR)和NO程序升温脱附(NO-TPD)结果证明纳米棒比纳米立方体具有更高的氧化还原性能.因此,α-Fe2O3纳米棒由于暴露高表面能的活性面具有比纳米立方体更高的NH3-SCR性能.     

Controlled synthesis of high-quality PbS star-shaped dendrites, multipods, truncated nanocubes, and nanocubes and their shape evolution process

Well-defined single-crystalline PbS nano- and microstructures including dendrites, multipods, truncated nanocubes, and nanocubes were synthesized in high yield by a simple solution route. Novel star-shaped PbS dendrites with six symmetric arms along the 100 direction, each of which shows one trunk (long axis) and four branches (short axes), have been achieved using Pb(AC)2 and thioacetamide (TAA) as precursors, under the molar ratio Pb(AC)2/TAA = 2/1, at initial reaction temperature 80 degrees C, refluxing for 30 min at 100 degrees C, in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromine (CTAB). The "nanorods" in each branch are parallel to each other in the same plane and are perpendicular to the trunk. The truncated nanocubes mainly bounded by the {100} plane were prepared under a different Pb(AC)2/TAA molar ratio, at initial reaction temperature 40 degrees C, refluxing for 12 h at 100 degrees C. Based on the systematic studies on their shape evolution, a possible growth mechanism of these PbS nano- and microstructures was proposed. The shapes of PbS nanocrystals with face-centered cubic (fcc) structure are mainly determined by the ratio (R) between the growth rates along the (100) and (111) directions. The Pb(AC)2/TAA molar ratio and the initial reaction temperature influence the growth ratio R in the formation of PbS nuclei at an early stage, which results in the final morphology of PbS nanocrystals. Under the current experimental conditions, we can control the PbS shape evolution by simply tuning the molar ratio, the initial reaction temperature, and the period of reaction. Based on the systematic studies on the shape evolution, this approach is expected to be employed for the control-shaped synthesis of other fcc structural semiconductor nanomaterials. The photoluminescence properties were investigated and the prepared nano- and microstructures displayed a very strong luminescence around 600-650 nm at room temperature.     

Silicon Wafers with Facet‐Dependent Electrical Conductivity Properties

By breaking intrinsic Si (100) and (111) wafers to expose sharp {111} and {112} facets, electrical conductivity measurements on single and different silicon crystal faces were performed through contacts with two tungsten probes. While Si {100} and {110} faces are barely conductive at low applied voltages, as expected, the Si {112} surface is highly conductive and Si {111} surface also shows good conductivity. Asymmetrical I –V curves have been recorded for the {111}/{112}, {111}/{110}, and {112}/{110} facet combinations because of different degrees of conduction band bending at these crystal surfaces presenting different barrier heights to current flow. In particular, the {111}/{110} and {112}/{110} facet combinations give I –V curves resembling those of p–n junctions, suggesting a novel field effect transistor design is possible capitalizing on the pronounced facet‐dependent electrical conductivity properties of silicon.     

Quantitative analysis of the role played by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) in seed-mediated growth of Ag nanocrystals

This article presents a quantitative analysis of the role played by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) in seed-mediated growth of Ag nanocrystals. Starting from Ag nanocubes encased by {100} facets as the seeds, the resultant nanocrystals could take different shapes depending on the concentration of PVP in the solution. If the concentration was above a critical value, the seeds simply grew into larger cubes still enclosed by {100} facets. When the concentration fell below a critical value, the seeds would evolve into cuboctahedrons enclosed by a mix of {100} and {111} facets and eventually octahedrons completely covered by {111} facets. We derived the coverage density of PVP on Ag(100) surface by combining the results from two measurements: (i) cubic seeds were followed to grow at a fixed initial concentration of PVP to find out when {111} facets started to appear on the surface, and (ii) cubic seeds were allowed to grow at reduced initial concentrations of PVP to see at which concentration {111} facets started to appear from the very beginning. We could calculate the coverage density of PVP from the differences in PVP concentration and the total surface area of Ag nanocubes between these two samples. The coverage density was found to be 140 and 30 repeating units per nm(2) for PVP of 55,000 and 10,000 g/mol in molecular weight, respectively, for cubic seeds of 40 nm in edge length. These values dropped slightly to 100 and 20 repeating units per nm(2), respectively, when 100 nm Ag cubes were used as the seeds.     

Atomistic models for CeO(2)(111), (110), and (100) nanoparticles,supported on yttrium-stabilized zirconia

Ceria is an important component in three-way catalysts for the treatment of automobile exhaust gases owing to its ability to store and release oxygen, a property known as the oxygen storage capacity. Much effort has been focused on increasing the OSC of ceria, and one avenue of exploration is the ability to fabricate CeO(2)-based catalysts, which expose reactive surfaces. Here we show how models for a polycrystalline CeO(2) thin film, which expose the (111), (110), and dipolar (100) surfaces, can be synthesized. This is achieved by supporting the CeO(2) thin film on an yttrium-stabilized zirconia substrate using a simulated amorphization and recrystallization strategy. In particular, the methodology generates models which reveal the atomistic structures present on the surface of the reactive faces and provides details of the grain-boundary structures, defects (vacancies, substitutionals, and clustering), and epitaxial relationships. Such models are an important first step in understanding the active sites at the surface of a catalytic material.     

从头开始理解形貌依赖的CuOx-CeO2相互作用

CuOx/CeO2催化剂在CO氧化反应中表现出高催化活性和显著结构敏感性.文献报道中CuOx/CeO2催化剂体系的合成条件差异较大,从而导致观察到的CuOx-CeO2相互作用存在较大争议.因此,系统研究并阐明CuOx/CeO2催化剂中CuOx-CeO2相互作用对于理解复杂的CuOx-CeO2界面催化作用具有重要的研究意义.近期发现,氧化物纳米晶的形貌可作为一种新的结构参数,在不改变氧化物催化剂组成的条件下实现其结构和性能的调控.本文以不同形貌CeO2纳米晶为载体,包括优先暴露{110}+{100}晶面的CeO2纳米棒、优先暴露{100}晶面的CeO2纳米立方体和优先暴露{111}晶面的CeO2纳米多面体,采用等体积浸渍方法合成了Cu担载量为0.025%~5%的CuOx/CeO2纳米晶催化剂,结合谱学和电镜表征方法,以及CO吸附原位红外光谱,系统研究了CuOx物种在不同形貌CeO2纳米晶上的结构演化及其催化CO氧化的构-效关系.结构表征结果表明, CuOx物种结构不仅依赖于Cu的担载量,也依赖于载体CeO2的形貌.随着Cu担载量的增加, CuOx物种优先沉积在CeO2的表面缺陷位,然后聚集和长大;同时伴随着CuOx物种从孤立Cu离子到与载体强/弱相互作用的CuOx团簇,高分散Cu O颗粒和大尺寸Cu O颗粒.孤立Cu^+离子和与载体弱相互作用CuOx团簇主要形成于CeO2纳米立方体的表面,这可能与CeO2纳米立方体暴露的氧终止CeO2{100}晶面相关.CO吸附原位红外结果表明, CuOx团簇与不同CeO2表面相互作用的强度顺序为:CeO2纳米棒暴露的{110}面>CeO2纳米多面体暴露的{111}面>CeO2纳米立方体暴露的{100}面.CeO2纳米立方体与Cu2+离子间相互作用弱于与Cu^+之间的,因此CeO2纳米立方体负载的CuOx物种在CO还原过程中容易停留在稳定的Cu^+中间物种;而CeO2纳米棒与Cu2+离子之间的相互作用强于与Cu^+之间的相互作用,因此CeO2纳米棒负载的CuOx物种在CO还原过程中容易形成金属铜.因此CO吸附原位红外光谱观察到CeO2纳米立方体负载CuOx催化剂中吸附在Cu^+的CO物种远远多于CeO2纳米棒负载CuOx催化剂.CO氧化反应结果表明, CuOx/CeO2催化剂表现出同时依赖于CuOx物种结构和CeO2形貌的结构敏感性.CuOx/CeO2催化剂活性表现出与CuOx/CeO2催化剂的CO还原性能的正相关性,说明中CuOx/CeO2催化CO氧化反应遵循Mv K反应机理.这些结果系统地关联了CeO2形貌, CuOx-CeO2相互作用, CuOx物种结构和CeO2还原性能, CuOx/CeO2催化CO氧化反应活性.     

Interface reaction route to two different kinds of CeO2 nanotubes

CeO(2) nanotubes have been synthesized with a simple solid-liquid interface reaction route in the absence of any surfactants. Although the basic reaction principles are similar, two kinds of nanotubes with completely different morphologies and structures can be generated by slightly tuning the postprocessing conditions. The first formation involves employing Ce(OH)CO(3) nanorods as both the physical and chemical templates, and the other requires layered Ce(OH)3 as an anisotropic intermediate species. During this process, NaOH and reaction temperature were demonstrated as the key factors responsible for the formation of Ce(OH)(3) intermediate and final CeO(2) nanotubes with well-defined structures. The structural details were provided by a combination of XRD, SEM, TEM, and HRTEM investigations. Catalytic measurement shows that both nanotubes are very active for CO oxidation, and at 250 degrees C, the conversion rates of CeO(2) nanotubes are 3 times higher than that of the bulk counterpart.     

Morphology and crystal-plane effects of Zr-doped CeO_2 nanocrystals on the epoxidation of styrene with tert-butylhydroperoxide as the oxidant

The morphology effect of Zr-doped CeO_2 was studied in terms of their activities in the selective oxidation of styrene to styrene oxide using tert-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant. In the present work, Zrdoped CeO_2 nanorods exhibited the highest catalytic performance(yield of styrene oxide and TOF value)followed by nanoparticles and nanocubes. For the Zr-doped CeO_2 nanorods, the apparent activation energy is 56.3 k J/mol, which is much lower than the values of catalysts supported on nanoparticles and nanocubes(73.3 and 93.4 k J/mol). The high resolution transmission electron microscopy results indicated that(100) and(110) crystal planes are predominantly exposed for Zr-doped CeO_2 nanorods while(100)and(111) for nanocubes,(111) for nanoparticles. The remarkably increased catalytic activity of the Zrdoped CeO_2 nanorods is mainly attributed to the higher percentage of Ce~(3+)species and more oxygen vacancies, which are associated with their exposed(100) and(110) crystal planes. Furthermore, recycling studies proved that the heterogeneous Zr-doped CeO_2 nanorods did not lose its initial high catalytic activity after five successive recycles.     

CeO2 nanorods and gold nanocrystals supported on CeO2 nanorods as catalyst

The formation mechanism of uniform CeO2 structure at the nanometer scale via a wet-chemical reaction is of great interest in fundamental study as well as a variety of applications. In this work, large-scale well-crystallized CeO2 nanorods with uniform diameters in the range of 20-30 nm and lengths up to tens of micrometers are first synthesized through a hydrothermal synthetic route in 5 M KOH solution at 180 degrees C for 45 h without any templates and surfactants. The nanorod formation involves dehydration of CeO2 nanoparticles and orientation growth along the 110 direction in KOH solution. Subsequently, gold nanoparticles with crystallite sizes between 10 and 20 nm are loaded on the surface of CeO2 nanorods using HAuCl4 solution as the gold source and NaBH4 solution as a reducing agent. The synthesized Au/CeO2 nanorods demonstrate a higher catalytic activity in CO oxidation than the pure CeO2 nanorods.     

纳米Pd的形貌和尺寸可控制备及其1,4-丁炔二醇加氢性能

采用化学还原法合成Pd纳米立方体,并将其作为晶种,进一步合成大尺寸的纳米Pd立方体以及具有不同{100}和{111}晶面比例的纳米Pd多面体.将形貌和尺寸可控的纳米Pd溶胶应用于1,4-丁炔二醇催化加氢的反应中,反应结果表明,纳米Pd的催化性能取决于其尺寸和形貌.{111}晶面的催化活性高于{100}晶面,PVP稳定的Pd胶体对1,4-丁烯二醇均具有较高选择性,具有适当{100}和{111}晶面比例的纳米Pd多面体对1,4-丁烯二醇的选择性可达96%.     

Atomic and electronic structure of unreduced and reduced CeO2 surfaces: a first-principles study

The atomic and electronic structure of (111), (110), and (100) surfaces of ceria (CeO2) were studied using density-functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. Both stoichiometric surfaces and surfaces with oxygen vacancies (unreduced and reduced surfaces, respectively) have been examined. It is found that the (111) surface is the most stable among the considered surfaces, followed by (110) and (100) surfaces, in agreement with experimental observations and previous theoretical results. Different features of relaxation are found for the three surfaces. While the (111) surface undergoes very small relaxation, considerably larger relaxations are found for the (110) and (100) surfaces. The formation of an oxygen vacancy is closely related to the surface structure and occurs more easily for the (110) surface than for (111). The preferred vacancy location is in the surface layer for CeO2(110) and in the subsurface layer (the second O-atomic layer) for CeO2(111). For both surfaces, the O vacancy forms more readily than in the bulk. An interesting oscillatory behavior is found for the vacancy formation energy in the upper three layers of CeO2(111). Analysis of the reduced surfaces suggests that the additional charge resulting from the formation of the oxygen vacancies is localized in the first three layers of the surface. Furthermore, they are not only trapped in the 4f states of cerium.     

'Shape effects' in metal oxide supported nanoscale gold catalysts

We report the activity of shape-controlled metal oxide (CeO(2), ZnO and Fe(3)O(4)) supported gold catalysts for the steam reforming of methanol (SRM) and the water gas shift (WGS) reactions. Metal oxide nanoshapes, prepared by controlled hydrolysis and thermolysis methods, expose different crystal surfaces, and consequently disperse and stabilize gold differently. We observe that similar to gold supported on CeO(2) shapes exposing the {110} and {111} surfaces, gold supported on the oxygen-rich ZnO {0001} and Fe(3)O(4) {111} surfaces shows higher activity for the SRM and WGS reactions. While the reaction rates vary among the Au-CeO(2), Au-ZnO and Au-Fe(3)O(4) shapes, the apparent activation energies are similar, indicating a common active site. TPR data further indicate that the reaction lightoff coincides with the activation of Au-O-M species on the surface of all three oxide supports evaluated here. Different shapes contain a different number of binding sites for the gold, imparting different overall activity.     

Structural characterization of nanosized CeO(2)-SiO(2), CeO(2)-TiO(2), and CeO(2)-ZrO(2) catalysts by XRD, Raman, and HREM techniques

Structural characteristics of nanosized ceria-silica, ceria-titania, and ceria-zirconia mixed oxide catalysts have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area, thermogravimetry, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM). The effect of support oxides on the crystal modification of ceria cubic lattice was mainly focused. The investigated oxides were obtained by soft chemical routes with ultrahighly dilute solutions and were subjected to thermal treatments from 773 to 1073 K. The XRD results suggest that the CeO(2)-SiO(2) sample primarily consists of nanocrystalline CeO(2) on the amorphous SiO(2) surface. Both crystalline CeO(2) and TiO(2) anatase phases were noted in the case of CeO(2)-TiO(2) sample. Formation of cubic Ce(0.75)Zr(0.25)O(2) and Ce(0.6)Zr(0.4)O(2) (at 1073 K) were observed in the case of the CeO(2)-ZrO(2) sample. Raman measurements disclose the fluorite structure of ceria and the presence of oxygen vacancies/Ce(3+). The HREM results reveal well-dispersed CeO(2) nanocrystals over the amorphous SiO(2) matrix in the cases of CeO(2)-SiO(2), isolated CeO(2), and TiO(2) (anatase) nanocrystals, some overlapping regions in the case of CeO(2)-TiO(2), and nanosized CeO(2) and Ce-Zr oxides in the case of CeO(2)-ZrO(2) sample. The exact structural features of these crystals as determined by digital diffraction analysis of HREM experimental images reveal that the CeO(2) is mainly in cubic fluorite geometry. The oxygen storage capacity (OSC) as determined by thermogravimetry reveals that the OSC of the mixed oxide systems is more than that of pure CeO(2) and is system dependent.     

Growth of Au@Ag Core–Shell Pentatwinned Nanorods: Tuning the End Facets

Au@Ag core–shell nanorods with tunable end facets are obtained by coating Au bipyramids (BPs) with Ag. The resultant nanorods exhibit a pentatwinned crystal structure with tips terminated with either {110} or {111} facets. The control over the end facets is achieved by varying the capping agents and tuning the reduction rate of Ag. Specifically, when Ag is reduced slowly, Au@Ag nanorods with flat {110} end facets are formed with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the capping agent. If CTAB is replaced with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), Au@Ag nanorods with tips terminated with {111} facets are obtained. However, at a high Ag reduction rate, dumbbell‐shaped Au@Ag nanorods are formed, with either CTAB or CTAC as the capping agent. The morphological evolution of the nanorods in each case is closely followed and a growth mechanism is proposed.     

"Simulating synthesis": ceria nanosphere self-assembly into nanorods and framework architectures

We predict, from computer modeling and simulation in partnership with experiment, a general strategy for synthesizing spherical oxide nanocrystals via crystallization from melt. In particular we "simulate synthesis" to generate full atomistic models of undoped and Ti-doped CeO2 nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanoporous framework architectures. Our simulations demonstrate, in quantitative agreement with experiment [Science 2006, 312, 1504], that Ti (dopant) ions change the shape of CeO2 nanocrystals from polyhedral to spherical. We rationalize this morphological change by elucidating, at the atomistic level, the mechanism underpinning its synthesis. In particular, CeO2 nanocrystals can be synthesized via crystallization from melt: as a molten (undoped) CeO2 nanoparticle is cooled, nucleating seeds spontaneously evolve at the surface and express energetically stable [111] facets to minimize the energy. As crystallization proceeds, the [111] facets grow, thus facilitating a polyhedral shape. Conversely, when doped with Ti, a (predominantly) TiO2 shell encapsulates the inner CeO2 core. This shell inhibits the evolution of nucleating seeds at the surface thus rendering it amorphous during cooling. Accordingly, crystallization is forced to proceed via the evolution of a nucleating seed in the bulk CeO2 region of the nanoparticle, and as this seed grows, it remains surrounded by amorphous ions, which "wrap" around the core so that the energies for high-index facets are drastically reduced; these amorphous ions adopt a spherical shape to minimize the surface energy. Crystallization emanates radially from the nucleating seed, and because it is encapsulated by an amorphous shell, the crystallization front is not compelled to express energetically favorable surfaces. Accordingly, after the nanoparticle has crystallized it retains this spherical shape. A typical animation showing the crystallization (with atomistic detail) is available as Supporting Information. From this data we predict that spherical oxide nanocrystals can be synthesized via crystallization from melt in general by suppressing nucleating seed evolution at the surface thus forcing the nucleating seed to spontaneously evolve in the bulk. Nanospheres can, similar to zeolitic classifications, constitute Secondary Building Units (SBUs) and can aggregate to form nanorods and nanoporous framework architectures. Here we have attempted to simulate this process to generate models for CeO2 and Ti-doped CeO2 nanorods and framework architectures. In particular, we predict that Ti doping will "smooth" the surfaces: hexagonal prism shaped CeO2 nanorods with [111] and [100] surfaces become cylindrical, and framework architectures change from facetted pores and channels with well-defined [111] and [100] surfaces to "smooth" pores and channels (expressing both concave and convex curvatures). Such structures are difficult to characterize using, for example, Miller indices; rather we suggest that these new structural materials may be better described using minimal surfaces.