ZnO nano-mushrooms for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange

In this paper, we report the successful synthesis of ZnO nano-mushrooms (ZNM) by the solution combustion method and their effective use as a photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. The synthesized ZNM were characterized in terms of their morphological, structural and optical properties. The detailed characterizations confirmed that the synthesized ZNM possess mushroom-shaped morphologies, grown in high density and exhibit well-crystallinity with good optical properties. The photocatalytic properties of ZNM were investigated under UV light irradiation via methyl orange (MO) as a model organic compound. The influence of operating parameters such as amount of ZNM and dye concentration was thoroughly examined in order to obtain best condition for photocatalytic degradation. Under optimum condition, over 92% photo-degradation of MO was achieved in 210 min. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.