Synthesis and visible-light photocatalytic properties of ZnO flake-like ensembles

Nanosheet-assembled ZnO flake-like ensembles were fabricated by a facile solution-based route. The morphology, size and micro/nanostructure of the ZnO flake-like ensembles were investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that all the ZnO flake-like ensembles with the porous features were composed of many nanosheets with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. After visible-light irradiation for 3 h, the as-obtained ZnO flake-like ensembles exhibited significantly high photocatalytic activity for decomposing malachite green, and the decomposition efficiency was 76.8%. All of which indicates that the ZnO flake-like ensembles could serve as a good candidate for the degradation of organic pollutants.