An environmentally benign solvothermal method for the synthesis of nanostructured Cd5(OH)8(NO3)2(H 2O)2: Templates for the generation of nanoporous CdO materials with photocatalytic properties

Zai Xing Yang, Wei Zhong*, Lei Zhang, Chak Tong Au, Hong Xing Dai, You Wei Du

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Using Cd(NO3)2·4H2O as a precursor and ethanol/water as the solvent, we synthesized Cd5(OH) 8(NO3)2(H2O)2 nanowires and nanobelts through a simple solvothermal method. Unlike the conventional oil-water surfactant approach, the adopted method is biologically safe, simple and environmentally benign. The morphology and size of the obtained materials were studied by FESEM. The results revealed that it is possible to assemble nanowires into microblocks by changing the ethanol/water ratio. Furthermore, the results of XRD investigation suggested that the change of ethanol/water ratio can have an influence on the crystalloid phases of Cd5(OH) 8(NO3)2(H2O)2. Through calcination of the as-synthesized compounds in air, nanoporous CdO can be generated. We found that the as-obtained CdO materials are photocatalytically active in the degradation of methylene blue. It is envisaged that this environmentally benign method is also suitable for the synthesis of nanostructures of other oxides such as MgO and CuO.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1887-1893
Number of pages7
JournalNanoscale
Volume3
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2011

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