Controlled synthesis of zinc oxide nanoflowers by succinate-assisted hydrothermal route and their morphology-dependent photocatalytic performance

Hierarchical flower-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were successfully synthesized by using facile succinate and PEG assisted hydrothermal process. The as-prepared ZnO samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and UV–visible spectroscopy. The effect of dilution of precursor concentration on the formation of distinctive morphology was systematically studied. The flower-like morphology of ZnO can be effectively tuned by simply varying the precursor concentrations. A plausible growth mechanism for the formation of different hierarchical nanostructures is also proposed. Further, photocatalytic activities of the as-prepared samples were studied by photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB).