Synthesis of different morphologies of ZnO via hydrothermal method for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of wastewater

The degradation of organic pollutants in water has become a research hotspot in the environmental field. Development of photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity is of great concern for environmental and energy applications. Herein, different morphologies of ZnO with enhanced photocatalytic activity was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method with the assistance of ethylene glycol (EG). EG is a key factor for the preparation of structures of ZnO materials. The volume ratio of EG to H2O also plays an important role on the morphology control of ZnO and different proportions have significantly different effects on the morphologies and performances. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller specific surface area (BET), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda pore diameter distribution, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the photocatalyst was evaluated using Rhodamine B as a target pollutant. When the volume ratio of EG to H2O is 6:9, it is found that ZnO with the flower clusters like, average dimensions of 5.25 mu m, crystalline size of 46.3 nm and BET-specific surface area of 91.0 m(2)/g, which photocatalytic efficiency is much higher than other samples, and the degradation rate of RhB reaches to 94.1%, photocatalytic rate is 0.015 min(-1). The quantum yield of the photocatalytic reaction is 7.5%. This work could provide a facile way to fabricate the photocatalysts and has great potential in environmental remediation with efficient photocatalytic activity.

Automated summary

This study investigates the synthesis of different morphologies of zinc oxide (ZnO) materials using a hydrothermal method, with the assistance of ethylene glycol (EG). The volume ratio of EG to H2O was found to play a key role in the morphology control of ZnO. The obtained photocatalysts were characterized and evaluated, and it was found that ZnO with flower cluster-like morphology, synthesized with a volume ratio of EG to H2O of 6:9, exhibited significantly higher photocatalytic efficiency than other samples.