Bubble‐Templated and Flow‐Controlled Synthesis of Macroscopic Silica Tubes Supporting Zinc Oxide Nanostructures

Abstract

Macrotubes with nanostructures are formed at rates of cm s−1 when aqueous zinc sulfate is injected into a silicate solution and a gas bubble is pinned to the reaction zone. Straight, long (>10 cm), and hollow structures with diameters of 500 μm can be grown, which upon heating are luminescent, and can photodegrade rhodamine B (RhB). The presence of ZnO on the interior surface is confirmed by electron and X-ray diffraction.