Are the Surfaces of Oxide Nanocrystals with Defined Facets as Perfect as They Appear? – A Case Study of Nanoshaped Ceria Catalysts

By probing the atomic scale surface structure of nanoshaped ceria catalysts via model molecules and reactions, we suggest that the surface of ceria nanoshapes is not perfectly structured but defective and even reconstructed, which plays a vital role in the catalytic chemistry on ceria.