One-step synthesis of ZnO nanowires on zinc foils and their photocatalytic properties

ZnO nanostructures with different morphologies have been grown on zinc foil substrate by a novel and facile hydrothermal method, without the assistance of any catalyst or template. The obtained ZnO samples are characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, UV-visible and photoluminescence techniques. The resulting ZnO nanorod has a diameter of about 70-90 nm and the average length is estimated to be in the range of 0.5-2.0 mu m. It is shown that the as-grown ZnO samples have a very good crystallinity. A comparison of the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with different ZnO shows that the photocatalytic properties of the ZnO nanostructures depend on the morphology of ZnO. The growth process of the ZnO nanorods is proposed based on the solid-liquid-solid mechanism.