Structure and Surface Relaxation of CeO Nanoparticles Unveiled by Combining Real and Reciprocal Space Total Scattering Analysis.

We present a combined real and reciprocal space structural and microstructural characterization of CeO nanoparticles (NPs) exhibiting different crystallite sizes; ~3 nm CeO NPs were produced by an inverse micellae wet synthetic path and then annealed at different temperatures. X-ray total scattering data were analyzed by combining real-space-based Pair Distribution Function analysis and the reciprocal-space-based Debye Scattering Equation method with atomistic models. Subtle atomic-scale relaxations occur at the nanocrystal surface.