skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Bio-template route for facile fabrication of Cd(OH){sub 2}@yeast hybrid microspheres and their subsequent conversion to mesoporous CdO hollow microspheres

Journal Article · · Materials Research Bulletin
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710054 (China)
  2. Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)
  3. Photocatalysis and Photoreaction Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU, Loughborough (United Kingdom)

Cadmium oxide (CdO) microspheres with a porous hollow microstructure were prepared by a facile yeast mediated bio-template route. The yeast provides a solid scaffold for the deposition of cadmium hydroxide (Cd(OH){sub 2}) from cadmium acetate and sodium hydroxide solutions to form the hybrid Cd(OH){sub 2}@yeast precursor. Thermal conversions of this at above 500 {sup o}C in air have produced hollow CdO microspheres. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analysis respectively. The obtained CdO microspheres have uniform size (length = 2.6 {+-} 0.4 {mu}m; width = 2.0 {+-} 0.2 {mu}m) and a well defined, continuous, mesoporous hollow microstructure. The shell is about 250-280 nm in thickness. The mechanism of formation of Cd(OH){sub 2}@yeast precursor and its conversion to CdO hollow microspheres is discussed. In comparison with traditional template-directed method, the present strategy represents a general, economical and environmentally benign route for the formation of metal oxide hollow microspheres. These materials have potential applications in different fields such as encapsulation, drug delivery, efficient catalysis, battery materials and photonic crystals. The method presented can be extended to the synthesis of other inorganic hollow microstructures of different sizes and shapes by pre-selecting suitable bio-templates.

OSTI ID:
22209973
Journal Information:
Materials Research Bulletin, Vol. 46, Issue 1; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0025-5408
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English