Phthalate precursor mediated synthesis of cadmium oxide nanoparticles and their photocatalytic application

Abstract

Cadmium oxide samples have been prepared by thermal decomposition of their precursors [Cd(pht)(H₂O)] (<strong>1</strong>), [Cd(pht)(Im)(H₂O)_0.5] (<strong>2</strong>), [Cd(pht)(MeIm)] (<strong>3)</strong> and [Cd(pht)(bpy)(H₂O)₂] (<strong>4</strong>) respectively (pht = phthalate, Im = imidazole, MeIm = 2-methylimidazole, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine). Precursor <strong>1 </strong> has been synthesized by a reaction of <em>in</em> <em>situ</em> generated disodium phthalate with cadmium acetate, while <strong>2-4</strong> were prepared by adding Im, MeIm and bpy respectively, to the solution of <strong>1</strong>. All compounds are characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and thermal techniques (TG/DTA). The particle size of CdO nanoparticles ranges from 53–62 nm as evident by PXRD, SEM/ TEM studies. The band gap values for CdO samples lie in the range 1.95–1.98 eV. The photolytic degradation rates of methylene blue by CdO are inversely proportional to the crystallite sizes of CdO samples.