Oxygen Vacancies and Surface Wettability: Key Factors in Activating and Enhancing the Solar Photocatalytic Activity of ZnO Tetrapods

Abstract

This paper reports on the high photocatalytic activity of ZnO tetrapods (ZnO-Ts) using visible/solar light and hydrodynamic water flow. It was shown that surface oxygen defects are a key factor in the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO-Ts. The ability to control the surface wettability of the ZnO-Ts and the associated concentration of surface defects was demonstrated. It was demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity during the MB decomposition process under direct and simulated sunlight is essentially identical. This presents excellent prospects for utilizing the material in solar photocatalysis.

Keywords

• zinc oxide
• wettability
• oxygen vacancies
• sunlight
• photocatalysis