Novel synthesis of cerium hexaboride by hexamine route

An endeavor has been made to prepare cerium hexaboride using a mixture of cerium nitrate, boron trioxide, and hexamine as a fuel burning at a relatively low temperature (500°C). The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, TGA/DTA, SEM, and TEM. The upshot of the exploration exemplifies that CeB6 with a crystallite size of about 50 nm can be beneficially prepared. Some impurities are also perceived with the pure compound, which embodies the presence of lower valence cerium borides.