Faceted nanocrystals involving Ce1-xZrxO2 (CZ) system bound by (101) and (110) facets were synthesized via co precipitation route. The novelty of this process relies on the fact that the synthesis did not involve any surfactant/ligand for morphology control (for all the CZ compositions) and the nanocrystals retained their shapes at high temperatures (> 800 degrees C). Catalytic and photocatalytic degradation properties were suitably examined for the CZ nanocrystals; substantial (similar to 90%) degradation of the methylene blue dye was observed only in 60 min of visible light irradiation. Ce1-xZrO2. ceramics with near-theoretical density (> 98%) obtained at 1580 degrees C (for 2 h) confirmed excellent sinterability for the synthesized CZ nanocrystalline powders. The ionic conductivities of the doped-ceria ceramics increased with temperature and frequency. A maximum conductivity of similar to 2 x 10(-3) S/cm was measured at 600 degrees C at 1 MHz for Ce0.4Zr0.6O2 ceramic; previous works obtained similar data at 900 degrees C or beyond for the same composition.