Synthesis of binary bismuth-cadmium oxide nanorods with sensitive electrochemical sensing performance

Binary bismuth-cadmium oxide nanorods have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process without templates and additives. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveal that the nanorods possess single crystalline tetragonal Bi2CdO4 phase. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images show that the length and diameter of the nanorods are 20 - 300 nm and 5 - 10 mu m, respectively. The formation of the binary bismuth-cadmium oxide nanorods is closely related to the hydrothermal parameters. The electrochemical sensing performance of the binary bismuthcadmium oxide nanorods has been investigated using the nanorods as glassy carbon electrode modifiers. The detection limit is 0.19 mu M with a linear range of 0.0005 - 2 mM. The nanorod-modified glassy carbon electrode exhibits good electrocatalytic activity toward L-cysteine and great application potential for electrochemical sensors.