Green synthesis of ZnO hollow sphere nanostructures by a facile route at room temperature with efficient photocatalytic dye degradation properties

Abstract

The present work has prepared ZnO hollow spherical nanoparticles using a straightforward synthetic route and has innovatively made use of carbon spheres as a template at room temperature. Through powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) the obtained hollow spheres were characterized. Also, the hollow structure is demonstrated by the different brightness observed in the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images. These hollow spheres were approximately 1 μm in diameter and were walled with some ZnO aggregated nanoparticles with dimensions of approximately 55 nm. In order to degrade the congo red dye (CR dye), the said ZnO nanostructures were then employed as a photo-catalyst. Based on the results, under both UV and visible irradiation, the prepared ZnO hollow spherical nanocrystallites outperformed other zinc oxide morphologies in terms of CR dye photodegradation, which can be ascribed to the more appropriate photocatalytic characteristics of the suggested particles. Finally, a possible growth mechanism has been fully explained.