Fractal growth of fern-like ZnO nanoleaves and their photocatalytic activities

Abstract

Fern-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoleaves, each of which consists of self-organised ZnO nanoplates in opposite pairs along one central ZnO nanorod, were synthesised by ultra-sonicating fine zinc particles in water. The morphology, crystal structure and photocatalytic properties of the fern-like ZnO nanoleaves were characterised by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to illustrate the fractal growth of fern-like ZnO nanoleaves in water. The effects of the illumination intensity and the catalyst loading on the photodegradation efficiencies of methyl orange were examined for the fern-like ZnO nanoleaves. It is found that the first-order photocatalytic rate constant of the fern-like ZnO nanoleaves is heavily dependent on the illumination intensity and the catalyst loading.