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Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a crucial step in integrated circuit manufacturing, and as chip feature sizes continue to shrink, there is an escalating demand for improved polishing performance. In this study, monodisperse porous CeO 2 nanospheres were synthesized and then modified through Nd doping. The structural and chemical characterization confirmed the enrichment effect on surface defects (Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies) due to the doping, with the percentage of Ce3+ in pCeO 2 -Nd materials (39%) being higher than that of pCeO 2 (31%). Furthermore, for the CMP application on silicon wafers, the material removal rate (MRR) of pCeO 2 -Nd reached 126.3 ± 17.5 nm/min, which is a 56% improvement over that of pCeO 2. In addition, the surface roughness (Ra) of the localized area (3 × 3 μm2) was reduced from initially 0.813 ± 0.02 nm to 0.296 ± 0.02 nm after polishing with pCeO 2. The chemical bonding of Ce–O–Si is considered to be the bridge between the structural characteristics of the abrasive and the polishing properties, whose presence makes the CMP process more efficient and high-quality. 1. Synthesized monodisperse porous abrasives pCeO 2 for polishing of silicon wafer.2. Dopant modification and heat treatment processes were investigated to obtain pCeO 2 -Nd abrasives.3. The material removal rate of pCeO 2 -Nd was increased by 56% compared to that of pCeO 2. [Display omitted] • Synthesized monodisperse porous abrasives pCeO 2 for polishing of silicon wafer. • Dopant modification and heat treatment processes were investigated to obtain pCeO 2 -Nd abrasives. • The material removal rate of pCeO 2 -Nd was increased by 56% compared to that of pCeO 2. • Wafer roughness can be reduced from 0.813 nm to 0.296 nm after polishing with pCeO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]