Shape-controlled synthesis of flower-like ZnO microstructures and their enhanced photocatalytic properties

In this paper, we report a simple one-step method to prepare shape-controlled flower-like ZnO microstructure. The different morphologies of ZnO flowers, including spindle-based, flake-based and rod-based, were synthesized by simply adjusting the Zn2+ in alkaline solution. The photocatalytic activities of the variously structural ZnO were investigated under UV-light irradiation, and the results showed that the flake-based ZnO displayed better in catalytic degradation of dyes than the other two structures. Since the flake-based ZnO featured with small grain size, enormous interface area and abundant mesopores due to its special structures. In brief, the present study provides an efficient method for the enhancement of photocatalytic activity by designing the shape-controlled ZnO flowers, especially the flake-based ZnO. These nanoflakes-assembled ZnO with superior photocatalytic performance are also expected to be used in other application such as gas-sensing.