ZnO nanocubes with (1 0 1) basal plane photocatalyst prepared via a low-frequency ultrasonic assisted hydrolysis process

• ZnO nanocube with (1 0 1)-basal plane formed on the substrate via low-frequency ultrasonic-assisted hydrolysis method.
• A directed-nucleation by the ultrasonic field is the driving factor for nanocube formation.
• ZnO nanocube show highly efficient heterogenous photocatalytic property.

The crystallographic plane of the ZnO nanocrystals photocatalyst is considered as a key parameter for an effective photocatalysis, photoelectrochemical reaction and photosensitivity. In this paper, we report a simple method for the synthesis of a new (1 0 1) high-energy plane bounded ZnO nanocubes photocatalyst directly on the FTO surface, using a seed-mediated ultrasonic assisted hydrolysis process. In the typical procedure, high-density nanocubes and quasi-nanocubes can be grown on the substrate surface from a solution containing equimolar (0.04 M) zinc nitrate hydrate and hexamine. ZnO nanocubes, with average edge-length of ca. 50 nm, can be obtained on the surface in as quickly as 10 min. The heterogeneous photocatalytic property of the sample has been examined in the photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) by UV light irradiation. It was found that the ZnO nanocubes exhibit excellent catalytic and photocatalytic properties and demonstrate the photodegradation efficiency as high as 5.7 percent/μg mW. This is 200 times higher than those reported results using a relatively low-powered polychromatic UV light source (4 mW). The mechanism of ZnO nanocube formation using the present approach is discussed. The new-synthesized ZnO nanocubes with a unique (1 0 1) basal plane also find potential application in photoelectrochemical devices and sensing.