Controlled synthesis and assembly of ceria-based nanomaterials

Two decades of ceria nanoparticle research: structure, properties and emerging applications

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) are versatile materials with unique and unusual properties that vary depending on their surface chemistry, size, shape, coating, oxidation states, crystallinity, dopant, and structural and surface defects. This review encompasses advances made over the past twenty years in the development of CeNPs and ceria-based nanostructures, the structural determinants affecting their activity, and translation of these distinct features into applications. The two oxidation states of nanosized CeNPs (Ce3+/Ce4+) coexisting at the nanoscale level facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies and defect states, which confer extremely high reactivity and oxygen buffering capacity and the ability to act as catalysts for oxidation and reduction reactions. However, the method of synthesis, surface functionalization, surface coating and defects are important factors in determining their properties. This review highlights key properties of CeNPs, their synthesis, interactions, and reaction pathways and provides examples of emerging applications. Due to their unique properties, CeNPs have become quintessential candidates for catalysis, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), sensing, biomedical applications, and environmental remediation, with tremendous potential to create novel products and translational innovations in a wide range of industries. This review highlights the timely relevance and the transformative potential of these materials in addressing societal challenges and driving technological advancements across these fields.

The Structures and Compositions Design of the Hollow Micro-Nano-Structured Metal Oxides for Environmental Catalysis

In recent decades, with the rapid development of the inorganic synthesis and the increasing discharge of pollutants in the process of industrialization, hollow-structured metal oxides (HSMOs) have taken on a striking role in the field of environmental catalysis. This is all due to their unique structural characteristics compared to solid nanoparticles, such as high loading capacity, superior pore permeability, high specific surface area, abundant inner void space, and low density. Although the HSMOs with different morphologies have been reviewed and prospected in the aspect of synthesis strategies and potential applications, there has been no systematic review focusing on the structures and compositions design of HSMOs in the field of environmental catalysis so far. Therefore, this review will mainly focus on the component dependence and controllable structure of HSMOs in the catalytic elimination of different environmental pollutants, including the automobile and stationary source emissions, volatile organic compounds, greenhouse gases, ozone-depleting substances, and other potential pollutants. Moreover, we comprehensively reviewed the applications of the catalysts with hollow structure that are mainly composed of metal oxides such as CeO2, MnOx, CuOx, Co3O4, ZrO2, ZnO, Al3O4, In2O3, NiO, and Fe3O4 in automobile and stationary source emission control, volatile organic compounds emission control, and the conversion of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances. The structure-activity relationship is also briefly discussed. Finally, further challenges and development trends of HSMO catalysts in environmental catalysis are also prospected.

Interfacial Electronic Interactions within the Pd-CeO2/Carbon Onions Define the Efficient Electrocatalytic Ethanol Oxidation Reaction in Alkaline Electrolytes

Porous Pd-based electrocatalysts are promising materials for alkaline direct ethanol fuel cells (ADEFCs) and ethanol sensors in the development of renewable energy and point-of-contact ethanol sensor test kits for drunk drivers. However, experimental and theoretical investigations of the interfacial interaction among Pd nanocrystals on supports (i.e., carbon black (CB), onion-like carbon (OLC), and CeO2/OLC) toward ADEFC and ethanol sensors are not yet reported. This is based on the preparation of Pd-CeO2/OLC nanocrystals by the sol-gel and impregnation methods. Evidently, the porous Pd-CeO2/OLC significantly increased membrane-free micro-3D-printed ADEFC performance with a high peak power density (Pmax = 27.15 mW cm-2) that is 1.38- and 7.58-times those of Pd/OLC (19.72 mW cm-2) and Pd/CB (3.59 mW cm-2), besides its excellent stability for 48 h. This is due to the excellent interfacial interaction among Pd, CeO2, and OLC, evidenced by density functional theory (DFT) simulations that showed a modulated Pd d-band center and facile active oxygenated species formation by the CeO2 needed for ethanol fuel cells. Similarly, Pd-CeO2/OLC gives excellent sensitivity (0.00024 mA mM-1) and limit of detection (LoD = 8.7 mM) for ethanol sensing and satisfactory recoveries (89-108%) in commercial alcoholic beverages (i.e., human serum, Amstel beer, and Nederberg Wine). This study shows the excellent possibility of utilizing Pd-CeO2/OLC for future applications in fuel cells and alcohol sensors.

Progress on metal-support interactions in Pd-based catalysts for automobile emission control

The interactions between metals and oxide supports, so-called metal-support interactions (MSI), are of great importance in heterogeneous catalysis. Pd-based automotive exhaust control catalysts, especially Pd-based three-way catalysts (TWCs), have received considerable research attention owing to its prominent oxidation activity of HCs/CO, as well as excellent thermal stability. For Pd-based TWCs, the dispersion, chemical state and thermal stability of Pd species, which are crucial to the catalytic performance, are closely associated with interactions between metal nanoparticles and their supporting matrix. Progress on the research about MSI and utilization of MSI in advanced Pd-based three-way catalysts are reviewed here. Along with the development of advanced synthesis approaches and engine control technology, the study on MSI would play a notable role in further development of catalysts for automobile exhaust control.

Leachate treatment potential of nanomaterial based assemblies: a systematic review on recent development

Rapid development of the population has brought about a serious problem of waste generation and management. Open dumping and land filling are two of the preferred options for waste management and treatment. As a consequence of this, the accumulation of leachates has become one of the concerns for environmental sustainability. In this regard, various treatment methodologies have been developed in recent decades. Among them, the nanomaterial-based approaches are the emerging ones in the current scenario due to their various unique properties. Furthermore, nanomaterial-based assemblies (i.e., nanomaterials combined with microbes, chemical catalysts, enzymes, and so on) have been introduced as a novel modification for leachate treatment. This work, therefore, has been dedicated to comprehensively reviewing all nanomaterial based leachate treatment techniques. In this regard, the first part of this review will discuss the nano catalyst, nano adsorbent along with their synthesis and mechanistic view of pollutant removal potential. In the second part, the nanomaterial-based microbial conjugates applied in the leachate treatments have been discussed. Apart from this, various other nanomaterial-based methods have been discussed in the third part of the review. Hence this review is providing an insight of all the recent developments pertaining to the nano material based leachate treatment techniques.

Facet-Dependent Reactivity of Ceria Nanoparticles Exemplified by CeO2-Based Transition Metal Catalysts: A Critical Review

The rational design and fabrication of highly-active and cost-efficient catalytic materials constitutes the main research pillar in catalysis field. In this context, the fine-tuning of size and shape at the nanometer scale can exert an intense impact not only on the inherent reactivity of catalyst’s counterparts but also on their interfacial interactions; it can also opening up new horizons for the development of highly active and robust materials. The present critical review, focusing mainly on our recent advances on the topic, aims to highlight the pivotal role of shape engineering in catalysis, exemplified by noble metal-free, CeO2-based transition metal catalysts (TMs/CeO2). The underlying mechanism of facet-dependent reactivity is initially discussed. The main implications of ceria nanoparticles’ shape engineering (rods, cubes, and polyhedra) in catalysis are next discussed, on the ground of some of the most pertinent heterogeneous reactions, such as CO2 hydrogenation, CO oxidation, and N2O decomposition. It is clearly revealed that shape functionalization can remarkably affect the intrinsic features and in turn the reactivity of ceria nanoparticles. More importantly, by combining ceria nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) of specific architecture with various transition metals (e.g., Cu, Fe, Co, and Ni) remarkably active multifunctional composites can be obtained due mainly to the synergistic metalceria interactions. From the practical point of view, novel catalyst formulations with similar or even superior reactivity to that of noble metals can be obtained by co-adjusting the shape and composition of mixed oxides, such as Cu/ceria nanorods for CO oxidation and Ni/ceria nanorods for CO2 hydrogenation. The conclusions derived could provide the design principles of earth-abundant metal oxide catalysts for various real-life environmental and energy applications.

Design strategies for ceria nanomaterials: untangling key mechanistic concepts

The morphologies of ceria nanocrystals play an essential role in determining their redox and catalytic performances in many applications, yet the effects of synthesis variables on the formation of ceria nanoparticles of different morphologies and their related growth mechanisms have not been systematised. The design of these morphologies is underpinned by a range of fundamental parameters, including crystallography, optical mineralogy, the stabilities of exposed crystallographic planes, CeO_2-x stoichiometry, phase equilibria, thermodynamics, defect equilibria, and the crystal growth mechanisms. These features are formalised and the key analytical methods used for analysing defects, particularly the critical oxygen vacancies, are surveyed, with the aim of providing a source of design parameters for the synthesis of nanocrystals, specifically CeO_2-x. However, the most important aspect in the design of CeO_2-x nanocrystals is an understanding of the roles of the main variables used for synthesis. While there is a substantial body of data on CeO_2-x morphologies fabricated using low cerium concentrations ([Ce]) under different experimental conditions, the present work fully maps the effects of the relevant variables on the resultant CeO_2-x morphologies in terms of the commonly used raw materials [Ce] (and [NO₃^-] in Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O) as feedstock, [NaOH] as precipitating agent, temperature, and time (as well as the complementary vapour pressure). Through the combination of consideration of the published literature and the generation of key experimental data to fill in the gaps, a complete mechanistic description of the development of the main CeO_2-x morphologies is illustrated. Further, the mechanisms of the conversion of nanochains into the two variants of nanorods, square and hexagonal, have been elucidated through crystallographic reasoning. Other key conclusions for the crystal growth process are the critical roles of (1) the formation of Ce(OH)₄ crystallite nanochains as the precursors of nanorods and (2) the disassembly of the nanorods into Ce(OH)₄ crystallites and NO₃^--assisted reassembly into nanocubes (and nanospheres) as an unrecognised intermediate stage of crystal growth.

Controllable design, synthesis and characterization of nanostructured rare earth metal oxides

Rare earth metal oxide nanomaterials have drawn much attention in recent decades due to their unique properties and promising applications in catalysis, chemical and biological sensing, separation, and optical devices. Because of the strong structure–property correlation, controllable synthesis of nanomaterials with desired properties has long been the most important topic in nanoscience and nanotechnology and still maintains a grand challenge. A variety of methods, involving chemical, physical, and hybrid method, have been developed to precisely control nanomaterials, including size, shape, dimensionality, crystal structure, composition, and homogeneity. These nanostructural parameters play essential roles in determining the final properties of functional nanomaterials. Full understanding of nanomaterial properties through characterization is vital in elucidating the fundamental principles in synthesis and applications. It allows researchers to discover the correlations between the reaction parameters and nanomaterial properties, offers valuable insights in improving synthetic routes, and provokes new design strategies for nanostructures. In application systems, it extrapolates the structure–activity relationship and reaction mechanism and helps to establish quality model for similar reaction processes. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview and a practical guide of rare earth oxide nanomaterial design and characterization, with special focus on the well-established synthetic methods and the conventional and advanced analytical techniques. This chapter addresses each synthetic method with its advantages and certain disadvantages, and specifically provides synthetic strategies, typical procedures and features of resulting nanomaterials for the widely-used chemical methods, such as hydrothermal, solvothermal, sol–gel, co-precipitation, thermal decomposition, etc. For the nanomaterial characterization, a practical guide for each technique is addressed, including working principle, applications, materials requirements, experimental design and data analysis. In particular, electron and force microscopy are illuminated for their powerful functions in determining size, shape, and crystal structure, while X-ray based techniques are discussed for crystalline, electronic, and atomic structural determination for oxide nanomaterials. Additionally, the advanced characterization methodologies of synchrotron-based techniques and in situ methods are included. These non-traditional methods become more and more popular because of their capabilities of offering unusual nanostructural information, short experiment time, and in-depth problem solution.

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Recent Advances on the Rational Design of Non-Precious Metal Oxide Catalysts Exemplified by CuOx/CeO2 Binary System: Implications of Size, Shape and Electronic Effects on Intrinsic Reactivity and Metal-Support Interactions

Catalysis is an indispensable part of our society, massively involved in numerous energy and environmental applications. Although, noble metals (NMs)-based catalysts are routinely employed in catalysis, their limited resources and high cost hinder the widespread practical application. In this regard, the development of NMs-free metal oxides (MOs) with improved catalytic activity, selectivity and durability is currently one of the main research pillars in the area of heterogeneous catalysis. The present review, involving our recent efforts in the field, aims to provide the latest advances—mainly in the last 10 years—on the rational design of MOs, i.e., the general optimization framework followed to fine-tune non-precious metal oxide sites and their surrounding environment by means of appropriate synthetic and promotional/modification routes, exemplified by CuOx/CeO2 binary system. The fine-tuning of size, shape and electronic/chemical state (e.g., through advanced synthetic routes, special pretreatment protocols, alkali promotion, chemical/structural modification by reduced graphene oxide (rGO)) can exert a profound influence not only to the reactivity of metal sites in its own right, but also to metal-support interfacial activity, offering highly active and stable materials for real-life energy and environmental applications. The main implications of size-, shape- and electronic/chemical-adjustment on the catalytic performance of CuOx/CeO2 binary system during some of the most relevant applications in heterogeneous catalysis, such as CO oxidation, N2O decomposition, preferential oxidation of CO (CO-PROX), water gas shift reaction (WGSR), and CO2 hydrogenation to value-added products, are thoroughly discussed. It is clearly revealed that the rational design and tailoring of NMs-free metal oxides can lead to extremely active composites, with comparable or even superior reactivity than that of NMs-based catalysts. The obtained conclusions could provide rationales and design principles towards the development of cost-effective, highly active NMs-free MOs, paving also the way for the decrease of noble metals content in NMs-based catalysts.

Formation mechanism and size control of ceria nanocubes

Ceria nanocubes of 10–20 nm were hydrothermally synthesized, involving Ce(OH)₃ rods and small-sized CeO₂ polyhedra/cubes as building blocks.

Reactive Fe-O-Ce Sites in Ceria Catalysts for Soot Oxidation

This study investigates the role of oxygen vacancy on Fe-doped CeO2 catalyst activity for soot oxidation. The oxygen vacancy was assessed through Ce3+ content. The Fe content was varied between 0 and 30% for two catalyst preparation methods, co-precipitation (CP) and solution combustion synthesis (SCS). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that ceria exists as both Ce4+ and Ce3+, while iron is present only as Fe3+. The catalyst’s activity was evaluated by ignition (T10) and combustion (T50) temperatures using thermogravimetric analysis. Optimum Fe contents yielding the highest activity were found to be 10% and 5% for CP and SCS catalysts, respectively. The surface area and morphology showed a moderate effect on catalyst activity, because catalytic soot oxidation involves solid–solid contact. More importantly, regardless of the fabrication method, it was found that Ce3+ content, which is closely related to oxygen vacancies, plays the most important role in affecting the catalyst activity.

Biomedical Applications for Gold Nanoclusters: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives

Gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) have been extensively applied as a fluorescent probe for biomedical applications in imaging, detection, and therapy due to their unique chemical and physical properties. Fluorescent probes of AuNCs have exhibited high compatibility, superior photostablility, and excellent water solubility which resulted in remarkable biomedical applications for long-term imaging, high-sensitivity detection, and target-specific treatment. Recently, great efforts have been made in the developments of AuNCs as the fluorescent probes for various biomedical applications. In this review, we have collected fluorescent AuNCs prepared by different ligands, including small molecules, polymers, and biomacromolecules, and highlighted current achievements of AuNCs in biomedical applications for imaging, detection, and therapy. According to these advances, we further provided conclusions of present challenges and future perspectives of AuNCs for fundamental investigations and practical biomedical applications.

Thermally stable core-shell Ni/nanorod-CeO2@SiO2 catalyst for partial oxidation of methane at high temperatures

During partial oxidation of methane (POM), the greatest challenge is to maintain the thermal stability of the catalyst at high temperatures. One of the most effective ways to improve thermal stability is to construct core-shell structure. Herein, using a microemulsion method, we synthesized a core-shell Ni/nanorod-CeO2@SiO2 catalyst, in which the Ni nanoparticles were supported on the CeO2 nanorods and encapsulated by SiO2 shells. Based on a series of characterizations, we found that the Ni particles are of nanosize (2.2 nm) and the thickness of the SiO2 shell is about 8 nm in the core-shell catalyst. Moreover, the Ni/nanorod-CeO2@SiO2 catalyst can perfectly maintain rod-like structures of the CeO2 support and enhance interaction between the metal Ni and CeO2, significantly reducing the sintering of metal Ni particles at high temperatures. Therefore, the as-prepared Ni/nanorod-CeO2@SiO2 catalyst shows high catalytic activity and good thermal stability during the POM reaction.

Artificial cerium-based proenzymes confined in lyotropic liquid crystals: synthetic strategy and on-demand activation

The artificial proenzyme concept for ultra-small cerium-based nanoparticles: the on-demand activation of inactive nanoparticles to mimic the activity of superoxide dismutase.

Influence of local structure on photoluminescence properties of Eu3+ doped CeO2 red phosphors through induced oxygen vacancies by contrasting rare earth substitutions

A new family of red phosphors, Ce_0.9-xRE_xO_2-δ:0.1Eu³⁺ (RE = Y and La; x = 0, 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, and 0.90), was synthesized by a conventional solid-state route. The influence of contrasting rare earth substitutions (Y and La) in the system was investigated on the local structure and associated photoluminescence properties by various characterization techniques. Both trivalent ion substitutions lead to the same kind of variation during phase transformation from fluorite to the respective parent oxide structure (x ≥ 0.6). On the other hand, the substitutions have a distinct effect on local structure, absorption, luminescence and lifetimes. The smaller Y³⁺ ion substitution enables the ordering of oxygen vacancies in a lattice, inhibiting the defect formation of Ce³⁺ oxidation states. In contrast, the larger La³⁺ ion substitution liberates oxygen vacancies, allowing defect formation. Consequently, the concentration of Ce³⁺ is dependent on the ionic radius of the metal ions and it has a bearing on the band gap and luminescence properties of the system. Ce_0.1Y_0.8O_2-δ:0.1Eu³⁺ phosphor exhibited maximum red emission intensity at 612 nm, which is 8 times higher than that of Ce_0.9O_2-δ:0.1Eu³⁺ and better than that of commercial Philips red phosphor, whereas La substitution yielded poor emission intensities with higher concentrations. The co-substitution of contrasting rare earth metals with Eu³⁺ allow the understanding of local structure and a smaller ion like Y³⁺ greatly functionalizes CeO₂:Eu³⁺ phosphor.

Deep eutectic-solvothermal synthesis of nanostructured ceria

Ceria is a technologically important material with applications in catalysis, emissions control and solid-oxide fuel cells. Nanostructured ceria becomes profoundly more active due to its enhanced surface area to volume ratio, reactive surface oxygen vacancy concentration and superior oxygen storage capacity. Here we report the synthesis of nanostructured ceria using the green Deep Eutectic Solvent reline, which allows morphology and porosity control in one of the less energy-intensive routes reported to date. Using wide Q-range liquid-phase neutron diffraction, we elucidate the mechanism of reaction at a molecular scale at considerably milder conditions than the conventional hydrothermal synthetic routes. The reline solvent plays the role of a latent supramolecular catalyst where the increase in reaction rate from solvent-driven pre-organization of the reactants is most significant. This fundamental understanding of deep eutectic-solvothermal methodology will enable future developments in low-temperature synthesis of nanostructured ceria, facilitating its large-scale manufacturing using green, economic, non-toxic solvents.

Co3O4-CeO2/C as a Highly Active Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Al-Air Batteries

Developing high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still a great challenge for Al-air batteries. Herein, CeO₂, a unique ORR promoter, was incorporated into ketjenblack (KB) supported Co₃O₄ catalyst. We developed a facile two-step hydrothermal approach to fabricate Co₃O₄-CeO₂/KB as a high-performance ORR catalyst for Al-air batteries. The ORR activity of Co₃O₄/KB was significantly increased by mixing with CeO₂ nanoparticles. In addition, the Co₃O₄-CeO₂/KB showed a better electrocatalytic performance and stability than 20 wt % Pt/C in alkaline electrolytes, making it a good candidate for highly active ORR catalysts. Co₃O₄-CeO₂/KB favored a four-electron pathway in ORR due to the synergistic interactions between CeO₂ and Co₃O₄. In full cell tests, the Co₃O₄-CeO₂/KB exhibited a higher discharge voltage plateau than CeO₂/KB and Co₃O₄/KB when used in cathode in Al-air batteries.

Dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde catalyzed by pristine and defective ceria surfaces

We have explored the dehydrogenation of methoxy on pristine and defective (111), (100), and (110) ceria surfaces with density functional methods. Methanol conversion is used as a probe reaction to understand structure sensitivity of the oxide catalysis. Differences in reaction selectivity have been observed experimentally as a function of crystallographically exposed faces and degree of reduction. We find that the barrier for carbon-hydrogen cleavage in methoxy is similar for the pristine and defective (111), (100), and (110) surfaces. However, there are large differences in the stability of the surface intermediates on the different surfaces. The variations in experimentally observed product selectivities are a consequence of the interplay between barrier controlled bond cleavage and desorption processes. Subtle differences in activation energies for carbon-hydrogen cleavage on the different crystallographic faces of ceria could not be correlated with structural or electronic descriptors.

Cerium Oxide Nanorods with Unprecedented Low-Temperature Oxygen Storage Capacity

Ultrafine cerium oxide nanorods are produced from rapidly liquid quenched Ce-Al alloy precursors by a corrosion method through the selective leaching of Al and the oxidation of Ce in an alkaline medium under mild conditions. The obtained nanorods, having 5-7 nm diameter, exhibit unprecedented low-temperature oxygen-storage capacity (OSC) performance.

Tuning surface grafting density of CeO2 nanocrystals with near- and supercritical solvent characteristics

In this work, the solvent effect on the synthesis of CeO₂ nanocrystals prepared in near- and supercritical alcohols is discussed.

Ceria-based catalysts for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3

Low-temperature NH₃-SCR has attracted considerable attention owing to the vast demand in industrial furnaces and its energy-conserving feature. This review summarizes the recent advances in the application of ceria-based catalysts for low-temperature NH₃-SCR.

Synthesis of ceria based superhydrophobic coating on Ni20Cr substrate via cathodic electrodeposition

In this work, superhydrophobic cerium oxide coating surface (111) with dual scale texture on Ni20Cr substrate is obtained by combination of electropolishing the substrate and subsequent cathodic electrodeposition and long-term UVH surface relaxation. To form hierarchical structures of CeO2 is controllable by varying the substrate roughness, and electropolishing period. The results indicated that at the optimal condition, the surface of the cerium oxide coating showed a superhydrophobicity with a great water contact angle (151.0 ± 1.4°) with Gecko state. An interface model for electropolishing of substrate surface in cerium nitrate medium is proposed. We expect that this facile process can be readily and widely adopted for the design of superhydrophobic coating on engineering materials.

Shape-Dependent Activity of Ceria for Hydrogen Electro-Oxidation in Reduced-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Single crystalline ceria nanooctahedra, nanocubes, and nanorods are hydrothermally synthesized, colloidally impregnated into the porous La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-δ (LSGM) scaffolds, and electrochemically evaluated as the anode catalysts for reduced temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Well-defined surface terminations are confirmed by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy--(111) for nanooctahedra, (100) for nanocubes, and both (110) and (100) for nanorods. Temperature-programmed reduction in H2 shows the highest reducibility for nanorods, followed sequentially by nanocubes and nanooctahedra. Measurements of the anode polarization resistances and the fuel cell power densities reveal different orders of activity of ceria nanocrystals at high and low temperatures for hydrogen electro-oxidation, i.e., nanorods > nanocubes > nanooctahedra at T ≤ 450 °C and nanooctahedra > nanorods > nanocubes at T ≥ 500 °C. Such shape-dependent activities of these ceria nanocrystals have been correlated to their difference in the local structure distortions and thus in the reducibility. These findings will open up a new strategy for design of advanced catalysts for reduced-temperature SOFCs by elaborately engineering the shape of nanocrystals and thus selectively exposing the crystal facets.

Near-Infrared Light Manipulated Chemoselective Reductions Enabled by an Upconversional Supersandwich Nanostructure

Core-satellite is one of the most powerful superstructures since it leads to enhanced or completely new properties through compatible combination of each component. Here we create a novel ceria-based core-shell-satellite supersandwich structure with near-infrared (NIR) light manipulated catalytic activity by integrating the upconversion luminescent and catalytic functionality of CeO2 nanoparticles. Specifically, lanthanide-doped octahedral CeO2 nanoparticles (o-CeO2) are coated with silica layer (o-CeO2@SiO2) to enhance their luminescence intensity. The pH-dependent catalytic active cubic CeO2 nanoparticles (c-CeO2) are then assembled on the surface of o-CeO2@SiO2 to form the supersandwich structure (o-CeO2@SiO2@c-CeO2) following a classic chemical reaction. The upconversion quantum yield of o-CeO2 in this nanostructure can be nearly doubled. Furthermore, under NIR light irradiation, the o-CeO2@SiO2@c-CeO2 supersandwich structure based composite catalyst displays superior catalytic activity in selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to corresponding azo compounds, and the composite photocatalyst can be easily recycled for several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. This strategy may serve as a universal method for the construction of multifunctional nanostructures and shed light on the green chemistry for chemical synthesis.