ZnO and Zn1-xCdxO nanocrystallites were prepared by oxidation of zinc arachidate-arachidic acid and zinc arachidate-cadmium arachidatearachidic acid LB multilayers, respectively. The metal content of the multilayers was controlled by manipulation of subphase composition and pH. Precursor multilayers were oxidized in the temperature range of 400 degrees C-700 degrees C. The formation of ZnO and Zn1-xCdxO was confirmed by UV-Visible spectroscopy. Uniformly distributed, isolated and nearly mono-dispersed nanocrystallites of ZnO (11 +/- 3 nm) and Zn1-xCdxO (18 +/- 6 nm) were obtained. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.