A facile solution synthesis of ZnO nanoplates on Al substrate at room temperature

Large scale and high density ZnO nanoplates have been successfully fabricated on Al substrate via a simple hydrothermal method at room temperature. The characterizations indicate the as-prepared ZnO nanoplates grown on the whole Al substrate with diameter of ∼4.8 µm and thickness of ∼150 nm. A possible growth mechanism was proposed. The photocatalysis test shows that ZnO nanoplates exhibit high efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic molecules. Moreover, the photocatalytic circulation experiments demonstrate the high stability of ZnO nanoplates.