Promoting effect of LaOF on chemical mechanical polishing performance of cerium-based abrasives

CeO₂ is increasingly recognized as a viable polishing abrasive for SiO₂-based substrates, such as K9 glass, leveraging its intrinsic chemical mechanical polishing property. Although LaOF can improve the performance of CeO₂ abrasive, the specific mechanism underlying this enhancement remains elusive. Herein, LaOF-CeO₂ composite abrasive was prepared by co-precipitation method, aiming to elaborate on the influence of LaOF on the abrasive's polishing efficiency. It is found that the integration of LaOF results in the formation of LaOF-CeO₂ composite characterized by a remarkably reduced primary particle size of approximately 41 nm, which primarily accounts for the improvement in polishing performance. Furthermore, the increasement in Ce³⁺ content and the Zeta potential both contribute to the superior function of the composite abrasive. Notably, the synergistic effect of these parameters is manifested in an elevated material removal rate reaching 1091.197 nm/min, coupled with a minimized surface roughness of as low as 0.546 nm when applied to K9 glass surface. The findings of this work offer novel insights into the role of LaOF in facilitating the performance of Ce-based abrasives, potentially influencing future advancements in the field of precision surface processing.