Hydrogen production from methanol aqueous solution by ZnO/Zn(OH)2 macrostructure photocatalysts

Abstract

Photocatalytic H₂ generation was studied for a series of ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructure photocatalysts. Different ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructures were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method by adjusting the pH values of the solution and the concentration of dodecyl sulfate. Three different morphologies of the ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructure were synthesized and studied using SEM and XRD. The reflectance spectra revealed that the cone shaped ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructure (ZnO-C) had the lowest reflectivity of UV light. It was found that the photoelectronic properties depend on the morphology of the ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructures. The photocatalytic activity of these ZnO/Zn(OH)₂ macrostructure hybrids (about 0.070 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) were higher than that observed for ZnO nanorods (0.050 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹). These results suggest the substantial potential of metal oxide materials with macrostructures in photocatalytic water splitting applications.