Microwave-assisted synthesis of Cd(OH)2/CdO nanorods: Effect of irradiation time

• Eg of the nanoparticles decreases with increasing time of microwave irradiation.
• The crystallite size of the samples is in the range 19–29 nm for CdO.
• The resistance decreases with the increase in temperature, typical of a semiconductor behavior.

A simple method to synthesize cadmium hydroxide/oxide nanorods by a wet chemical route assisted by microwave irradiation in the presence of a bio-template is presented. The obtained products at different irradiation times have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR). XRD analysis showed the presence of crystalline Cd(OH)2 and CdO phases, in the monoclinic and cubic structure, respectively. The albumen biotemplate addressed the growth of crystalline Cd(OH)2 and CdO along the c axis, generating nanorods with diameter approximately of 20–50 nm and length up to 500 nm, assembled to form elongated hierarchical nanostructures of some micrometers. The optical and electrical properties of these nanostructures were also investigated.