Morphologies of zinc oxide particles and their effects on photocatalysis

ZnO powders with different morphologies were synthesized by alkali precipitation, organo-zinc hydrolysis, and spray pyrolysis. Acetaldehyde decomposition was used as a probe reaction to evaluate the photocatalysis of these ZnO powders. We investigated the relationship between photocatalytic activity and crystallinity, surface area, or morphology. Results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of ZnO powder depends on crystallinity rather than surface area for the same original ZnO powders prepared by equal conditions other than the difference in calcination temperature. However, no direct relationship between photocatalytic activity and crystallinity or surface area was found for the differently original ZnO powders prepared by different methods, or the same method with different conditions. Instead, we find that the particle morphology significantly affects its photocatalysis.