Synthesis and photocatalytic application of ZnO nanoarrows

We report a simple and efficient route to synthesize nanoarrows shaped zinc oxide (ZnO) combining electrospinning and high temperature calcination for photocatalytic applications. A comparison of the photo catalytic degradation of methyl orange with ZnO nanoparticles showed that the ZnO nanoarrows were superior to ZnO nanoparticles. These novel ZnO nanoarrows could have wide range of applications such as energy materials, gas sensors, UV-visible blockers and catalyst for organic synthesis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.