Photocatalytic decomposition of rhodamine B by newly designed one-dimension ZnO using chemical method

Abstract

High quality and mono-dispersed ZnO nanowire and nanorod were firstly synthesized using co-precipitation method without using any organic solvents in the whole preparation process, which is consistent with the development of green chemistry and also can be used for large-scale production. The co-precipitation method is so popular with us that it is conducive to control and industrialize, which is also useful to save energy and protect our environment in part because we never utilize organic solvents and even ethanol in fabricating one-dimension (1D) ZnO. Although the focus here will be on the preparation of nanowired and nanoroded ZnO, we also explore the reaction mechanisms for semiconductor ZnO and commit to provide a prospective blueprint for how understanding growth mechanisms can be used to synthesize other one-dimensional metal oxide with environmental friendly method. As a semiconductor, it can be used in the field of the photocatalytic property, which was tested by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) solution. 1D ZnO nanowire products exhibit a high rate degradation of 10 mg L−1 RhB aqueous solution and achieve almost complete degradation of RhB from aqueous solution under light resource within 60 min.