Rod-like and sphere-like barium molybdate (BaMoO4) nanostructures have been synthesized by a large scale and simple sonochemical method by using Ba(Sal)2 (Sal=salicylidene) and Na2MoO4 center dot 2H(2)O for the first time. The effects of sonochemical irradiation time, sonochemical power, temperature, solvent, surfactant and barium source were considered to obtain a controlled shape. It was established that morphology, particle size and phase composition of the final products could be greatly affected by these parameters. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized products has been compared for the photo degradation activity of methylene blue (MB). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.