Hydrothermal synthesis of (001) facet highly exposed ZnO plates: A new insight into the effect of citrate

Abstract

In this work, two synthesis routes were applied to investigate the effect of citrates on the construction of the ZnO structure. Well-dispersed ZnO plates with (001) facet highly exposed were prepared via one-step hydrothermal route, while ZnO nanoparticles were obtained via two-step route. In one-step route, citrates were added before the formation of Zn(OH)2 precursor, while citrates were added after the formation of Zn(OH)2. For the first time, the interaction between citrates and the Zn(OH)2 precursor was investigated and citrates that participated in the formation of Zn(OH)2 were the main cause for (001) facet exposed structure construction. A growth mechanism about the formation of ZnO plates in the presence of citrates was proposed. The as-prepared ZnO plates showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB).