Template-free non-aqueous electrochemical growth of CdO nanorods

Abstract The direct template-free synthesis and characterization of CdO nanorods (NRs) obtained through electrochemical reduction process of molecular oxygen (O 2 ) in a dimethylsulfoxide solution containing CdCl 2 are reported. X-ray diffraction characterization of the NRs shows that the CdO phase was obtained without the presence of any other secondary phases. In agreement with the aspect ratio of a typical nanorod structure, CdO NRs presented average diameters of ca . 170 nm and average lengths of ca . 920 nm. Current results also demonstrate that the employed electrochemical synthesis route favors the growth of NRs with a preferred crystallographic orientation along the [200] axis direction. The synthesized CdO NRs exhibited a n-type semiconductor character with a donor carrier concentration of N D = 4.3 × 10 19 cm − 3 .