Hierarchical ZnO Nanomaterials with Superior Photocatalytic Properties

Abstract

A well-controlled multistage hydrothermal technique was developed to synthesise hierarchical zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials with a high surface-to-volume ratio. Hierarchical ZnO nanomaterials, hierarchical nanowires (HNWs) and hierarchical nanodiscs (HNDs), assembled from initial mono-morphological nanomaterials, ZnO nanowires, and ZnO nanodiscs respectively were prepared by sequential nucleation and growth following a hydrothermal course. The hierarchical nanomaterials composed of one-dimensional nanowire building blocks were obtained by introducing zinc nitrate as a source of zinc ions during the second growth phase. In comparison to their initial monomorphological counterparts, the prepared HNWs and HNDs showed superior photocatalytic performances. The improvement in the photocatalytic performance was ascribed to the reduction in dimensionality, the ultrahigh surface-to-volume ratio, the expanded proportion of the exposed polar area, and the creation of nanojunctions between the secondary nanowires and initial ZnO nanowires or nanodiscs. This work paves the way for the low-cost, large-scale, and low-temperature production of ZnO nanomaterials with superior photocatalytic properties.