A facile way to synthesize cost-effective ZnO nanorods with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A one-pot simple and cost-effective calcination method has been developed for preparing nanoroded zinc oxide (ZnO) with greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity. The nanocatalyst possessing smaller surface area synthesized by calcining zinc acetate dehydrate, however, acquired higher normalized rate constant than other reported ZnO nano/micromaterials. The samples characterized by XPS spectra denoted the photocatalytic activity enhancement might associate with oxygen vacancies. Notably, the ZnO nanorods were chemically stable and could be easily recycled for four times without obvious decrease in photocatalystic activity. This simple, cost-effective, high-yield method with excellent performance of resulting products could be extended to study oxygen vacancies and also provide new avenue for potential industrial applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.