A facile, low temperature and low cost one-step template-free approach is presented for the fabrication of cadmium hydroxide nanodisks and nanowires on the silicon substrates. The volume of ammonium hydroxide solution plays a crucial role for controlling the morphology of cadmium hydroxide nanostructures. Cadmium hydroxide nanodisks exhibited very strong and broad emission properties in the cathodoluminescence spectrum. The enhancement in optical properties shall be advantageous in applications for white light-emitting devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.