Synthesis and characterization of cadmium hydroxide nano-nest by chemical route

A facile chemical route based on room temperature chemical bath deposition (CBD) was developed to deposit the Cd(OH)2 nano-nest. The growth mechanism follows two-stage crystallization with initial growth of nucleation centers, followed by subsequent anisotropic growth. The nano-nest morphological evolution of Cd(OH)2 on different substrates has been carried out. These films have been characterized by the techniques; such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), optical absorption, contact angle measurement and thermoelectric power (TEP) measurements. The X-ray diffraction study revealed that the as deposited film consists of cadmium hydroxide (Cd(OH)2) phase. The nano-nest consisted of wires with nearly uniform in dimensions, with diameter around 30 nm and length of few microns. As-deposited Cd(OH)2 film used in this study showed water contact angle of 66°. The optical bandgap was found to be 3.2 eV, with n-type electrical conductivity as confirmed from thermo-emf measurements.