Morphology controlled synthesis and photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide nanostructures

Zinc oxide with different morphologies is prepared by adopting various synthetic pathways. The synthetic routes adopted include solvothermal method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), CTAB assisted hydrothermal synthesis and the direct heating of zinc nitrate hexahydrate precursor. The prepared systems are well characterized using X-Ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, surface area analysis by BET method and Diffuse Reflectance UV spectroscopy. Three different morphologies of zinc oxide are identified, vis., rice like short nanorods, flower like structures and hexagonal pyramid. The systems exhibited commendably high photocatalytic degradation efficiency towards rhodamine B dye. A correlation between the physical characteristics of the systems and the activity is also attempted here.