Well-defined flower-like Cd(OH)(2) microstructures have been successfully synthesized via a simple aqueous solution route, using CdCl2 and NaOH as the reactants, and triethanolamine (TEA) as the modifying agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis spectrometer were used to characterize the products. SEM and TEM images illustrated that the flower-like Cd(OH)(2) bundles consisted of hexagonal nanoplates with thickness of about 50 nm. The adsorption of TEA on (0 0 1) plane of the growing Cd(OH)(2) crystal leads to the flower petals in appearance. Further experiments evidenced that the positively charged Cd(OH)(2) could effectively adsorb or separate the negatively charged dye molecules. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.