Synthesis of ZnO Nanostructures and their Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructured materials (nanotubes and nanosheets) have been synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method. Keeping the hydrothermal temperature fixed (at 90 o C), it was found that the hydrothermal treatment duration has a strong effect on the morphological structure of the resulting product, where it was observed that nanosheets are formed at shorter treatment durations (10h) and by increasing the treatment duration (to about 14h) they transform into nanotubes, probably by the rolling mechanism. The photocatalytic activity of both nanostructures has been examined by the degradation of Methyl Orange using UV light (λ =253.7 nm), and results showed that ZnO nanosheets are more effective on the degradation of the MO than the nantubes, due to their high surface area. These results indicate that ZnO nanosheets can be a good choice for the treatment of organic waste-water in future.