Enhanced catalytic performance of zinc oxide nanorods with crystal plane control

Abstract

Crystal plane control, one type of morphological control, can improve the performance of catalysts in catalytic reactions. However, it is difficult to realize crystal plane control at present. In this work, a simple hydrothermal method is used to realize crystal plane control in ZnO nanorods. Density of states (DOS) calculations indicate that the electron energy of the (101) plane is lower than that of the (100) plane, corresponding to better predicted catalytic properties for the (101) exposed crystal plane in ZnO. ZnO nanorods with exposed (101) and (100) crystal planes are synthesized and used for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange and rhodamine B. The results illustrate that the photocatalytic performance of pyramidal ZnO nanorods with exposed (101) planes is higher than that of prismatic ZnO nanorods with exposed (100) planes, which is consistent with the DOS calculations. This study establishes a common relationship between the performance and structure, which is instructive for the further design of metal oxide structures with controlled morphologies.