Novel cone-like ZnO mesocrystals with co-exposed (101̄1) and (0001̄) facets and enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Surface heterojunctions were constructed in ZnO mesocrystals with co-exposed curved (101̄1) and flat (0001̄) surfaces and greater photocatalytic dye degradation was achieved compared to that of ZnO nanocrystals.

The role of counter-ions in crystal morphology, surface structure and photocatalytic activity of ZnO crystals grown onto a substrate

“…It is evident the importance of counter-ions on the crystal growth mechanism of ZnO crystals via hydrothermal treatment, since they affect the formation process of [ZnO 4 ] clusters in the ZnO network [31]. The characteristics of the environment, sulfide ions in this case, can drastically alter the surface properties, and consequently the morphologies in the equilibrium condition [118].…”

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Mesocrystals: Synthesis, Growth Mechanisms and Photocatalytic Properties

“…Despite the flourishing emergence of reports on the fabrication of mesocrystals, the history of mesocrystal synthesis is closely related to the continuous exploitation of mesocrystals with new compositions and the persistent development of synthetic procedures having advantages in terms of low cost, convenience in handling, and easiness in compositional and structural control [35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. To date, mesocrystals with a broad range of compositions involving metal oxides (e.g., TiO2 , ZnO [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85], Fe2O3 [86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95], CuO [96][97][98][99][100][101], SnOx [102,103], Co3O4 [104][105][106][107]…”

“…Although significant attention has been directed to fabricating TiO2 mesocrystals with controlled morphologies, the realization of TiO2 mesocrystals is always a challenging task, probably because the titanium precursors used are highly reactive, and it is rather difficult to precisely control the growth dynamic of TiO2 crystals. Additionally, considering To date, mesocrystals with a broad range of compositions involving metal oxides (e.g., TiO 2 , ZnO [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85], Fe 2 O 3 [86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95], CuO [96][97][98][99][100][101], SnOx [102,103], Co 3 O 4 [104][105][106][107][108], Ag 2 O [109]), metal chalcogenides (e.g., ZnS [110], PbS [111][112][113],Ag 2 S [114], PbS...…”

{0 0 1}-Facet-Exposed Ag4V2O7 Nanoplates: Additive-Free Hydrothermal Synthesis and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

“…As a result, the Ta 5 + -doped rutile TiO 2 arrays were grown preferably along [1 1 0] direction, instead of along c-axis observed for undoped samples [17]. There are only a limited number of additivefree chemical synthesis procedures of faceted photocatalysts, in which other preparative parameters than additives were exploited for facet engineering so far [18,19]. Liang et al synthesized nanoparticle-aggregated cone-like ZnO mesocrystals enclosed by curved 1 0 1 1 and flat 0 0 0 1 surfaces by a water-induced precursor-hydrolysis process in a water/ organic solvent system [18].…”

“…There are only a limited number of additivefree chemical synthesis procedures of faceted photocatalysts, in which other preparative parameters than additives were exploited for facet engineering so far [18,19]. Liang et al synthesized nanoparticle-aggregated cone-like ZnO mesocrystals enclosed by curved 1 0 1 1 and flat 0 0 0 1 surfaces by a water-induced precursor-hydrolysis process in a water/ organic solvent system [18]. The results showed that the volume ratio between organic solvent and water played a key role for tailoring the final crystal shape of ZnO with controllable facets.…”