Photocatalytic performance of rice grain shaped ZnO microrods under solar irradiation

Rice grain shaped zinc oxide (ZnO) microrods are obtained following a facile solution synthesis procedure. These microrods have wurtzite crystal structure. Photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized and heat-treated (at ~200 °C) microrods was investigated for decomposition of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution under solar light irradiation. Heat-treated microrods exhibited enhanced degradation efficiency than the as-synthesized microrods within 90 min. The photocatalytic activity enhancement is attributed to rice grain shaped morphology and enhanced interface reactions of photo-generated charge carries with MB dye and its intermediates. Recyclability test confirms stability of the catalyst under experimental conditions.