Synthesis of ZnO nanostructures via low temperature solution process for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye

In this research work, ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by low temperature solution process and applied as photo-catalysts for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) dye. The synthesized ZnO nanostructures presented well-defined rod like morphology having the average diameter of about 80-100 nm. The structural and crystalline characterizations revealed that the synthesized materials presented the good crystal structure with typical wurtzite hexagonal phase. The photo-degradation of RhB dye was investigated over the surface of synthesized ZnO nanostructures under light illumination, which showed a rapid RhB-dye degradation with the degradation rate of ∼97% in 120 min.