Synthesis and study of the photoluminescence and optical characteristics of Cd/CdO nanorods prepared by the electrospinning process

Researchers are facing difficulties to synthesize a nanostructure containing pure cadmium due to the low melting point of this metal. In this study, for the first time, pure cadmium metal could be successfully incorporated in a one-dimensional nanostructure. A composite from Cd and CdO in a shape of nanorods were prepared using the electrospinning technique. Sintering of electrospun nanofibers consisting of cadmium acetate dihydrate and poly(vinyl alcohol) in an argon atmosphere at 300 °C led to produce nanorods composed of pure cadmium and cadmium oxide. Increasing the calcination temperature resulted in enhancing the cadmium content, however led to a complete destruction of the one-dimensional nanostructure. Compared with the reported one-dimensional CdO nanostructures, embedding the cadmium with the CdO in a single nanorod causes to increase the band gap from 2.53 to 4.95 eV, and shifts the location of the PL emission peak from 550 to 593 nm which may open a new avenue for different application fields.

► For the first time pure cadmium could be synthesized in a nanostructural form.
► Pure cadmium/cadmium oxide nanorods were prepared using the electrospinning.
► Incorporating of Cd led to red shift of the CdO PL emission peak.
► The introduced Cd/CdO nanorods have a band gap of 4.95 eV.