Role of urea on the structural, textural, and optical properties of macroemulsion-assisted synthesized holey ZnO nanosheets for photocatalytic applications

Abstract

Using a macroemulsion-assisted solvothermal method, the present study produces holey ZnO nanosheets exhibiting the hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. In the synthetic process, urea is employed as a hydrolyzing agent. Its...

Macroemulsion-mediated synthesis of fibrous ZnO microrods and their surface morphology contribution to the high photocatalytic degradation rate

“…We performed a time-dependent photodegradation study in this work by modifying the method reported in our previous study. 14 In a typical process, 8 mg of the synthesized ZnO was mixed with 8 mL of rhodamine B solution (5 ppm). First, the mixture was stirred in the dark for 5 minutes.…”

“…In our previous work, urea is essential in forming nanostructured ZnO and its properties. 14 The urea hydrolysis is vital for the formation of zinc carbonate hydroxide and the subsequent ZnO crystal. 50,51 Therefore, optimizing the amount of urea resulting in the desired morphology of ZnO is important.…”

“…The rate constant of the ZnO_Ac_U2 photocatalyst is smaller than that of the holey ZnO nanosheet photocatalyst reported in our previous work. 14 The high photodegradation rate of the ZnO_Ac_U2 photocatalyst might provide an alternative photocatalyst to degrade organic pollutants from wastewater.…”

“…1,2 ZnO has several advantages, including good thermal and chemical stability, environmental friendliness, low toxicity, and low production cost. 3,4 These advanced characteristics make ZnO a promising material for many applications, including optoelectronic devices, 5,6 batteries, 7,8 sensors, 9,10 catalysts, 11,12 photocatalysts, 13,14 and piezocatalysts. [15][16][17] ZnO crystal preferentially grows in the [002] direction, in which O 2À and Zn 2+ ions stack alternately, forming ZnO nano-/ microrods.…”

“…Compared with other synthesis methods, the hydrothermal/ solvothermal process provides a simple and convenient way to control ZnO nanostructures' size, shape, and morphology with a relatively high yield. 38 In our research group, we successfully prepared different materials (polyaniline, 39,40 silica, [41][42][43][44] alumina, 45,46 and zinc oxide 14 ) with a controllable morphology using the macroemulsion-mediated solvothermal method. Recently, the synthesis of ZnO within a macroemulsion resulted in holey ZnO nanosheets.…”