ZnO Nanorods Grown on Rhombic ZnO Microrods for Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

In this paper, the formation of rhombic ZnO microrods surrounded by ZnO nanorods was realized on the surfaces of zinc foils using a hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B solution was used to test the photocatalytic performance of the prepared samples. Compared with the rhombic Zn(OH)F and ZnO microrods grown on zinc foils, the hierarchical micro/nanostructures formed by ZnO nanorods surrounding the surfaces of rhombic ZnO microrods have better photocatalytic performance. The experimental results are mainly due to the fact that the hierarchical ZnO micro/nanostructures formed by ZnO nanorods surrounding the surface of the rhombic ZnO microrods have a larger surface area compared with the rhombic Zn(OH)F and ZnO microrods. More importantly, the photocatalytic circulation experiments indicate that ZnO nanorods grown on rhombic ZnO microrods can be recycled and have a relatively stable photocatalytic performance.

Keywords

• hierarchical ZnO micro/nanostructures
• photocatalytic activity
• rhombic ZnO microrods