An environmentally benign solvothermal method for the synthesis of nanostructured Cd5(OH)8(NO3)2(H2O)2: templates for the generation of nanoporous CdO materials with photocatalytic properties.

Using Cd(NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O as a precursor and ethanol/water as the solvent, we synthesized Cd(5)(OH)(8)(NO(3))(2)(H(2)O)(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 Cd(5)(OH)(8)(NO(3))(2)(H(2)O)(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.