Fast preparation and growth mechanism of erythrocyte-like Cd2Ge2O6 superstructures via a microwave-hydrothermal process

Monodisperse erythrocyte-like Cd2Ge2O6 superstructures have been successfully prepared via a facile and fast microwave-assisted solution-phase approach, employing Cd(Ac)(2)center dot 2H(2)O and GeO2 as the reactants in the presence of hydrazine monohydrate. The phase and morphology of the product were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such monoclinic phase Cd2Ge2O6 microstructures were found to be constructed by abundant single crystalline nanoneedles. Some influencing factors such as the reaction time, reaction temperature, the volume of hydrazine monohydrate and the cadmium source were revealed to play crucial roles in the formation of the Cd2Ge2O6 architecture. A possible growth mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results.