  We report synthesis of Cd substituted ZnO nanostructures (Zn1-xCdxO with x
upto \approx .09) by high pressure solution growth method. The synthesized
nanostructures comprise of nanocrystals that are both particles (~ 10-15 nm)
and rods which grow along (002) direction as established by Transmission
electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Rietveld
analysis of the XRD data shows monotonous increase of the unit cell volume with
the increase of Cd concentration. The optical absorption as well as the
photoluminescence (PL) shows red shift on Cd substitution. The line width of
the PL spectrum is related to the strain inhomogenity and it peaks in the
region where the CdO phase separates from the Zn1-xCdxO nanostructures. The
time resolved photoemission showed a long lived (~10ns) component. We propose
that the PL behavior of the Zn1-xCdxO is dominated by strain in the sample with
the redshift of the PL linked to the expansion of the unit cell volume on Cd
substitution.
