A novel and simple method to grow beaded nanochains of ZnO with superior photocatalytic activity

We have demonstrated a novel and simple low-cost method to grow beaded nanochains of ZnO using an aqueous chemical growth method. Whatman filter paper (40) is used as the template. The filter paper is generally made up of cellulose fibers along which the growth of beaded ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) is initiated. When the filter paper is burnt at 700 °C temperature, the NPs appear as a beaded nanochain morphology while those synthesized without the filter paper form lumped nanostructures without any regular shape and size. A model has been proposed to explain the growth mechanism. A sharp and strong green emission has been observed for the template-grown sample in contrast to a broad and less intense hump of the without template-grown sample. The beaded nanochains shows 64% photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) under UV irradiation, which is much superior to a value of only 22% shown by the lumped sample. Not only can this low-cost simple template-based synthesis be applied to grow other nanostructures of similar morphology but is also promising for enhancing the properties in the multifunctional materials.