Morphology Effects on Electro- and Photo-Catalytic Properties of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures
Kedruk Y.Y. Contestabile A. Zeng J. Fontana M. Laurenti M. Gritsenko L.V. Cicero G. Pirri C.F. Abdullin K.A.
September 2023Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Nanomaterials
2023#13Issue 18
Environmental problems are among the most pressing issues in the modern world, including the shortage of clean drinking water partially caused by contamination from various industries and the excessive emission of CO2 primarily from the massive use of fossil fuels. Consequently, it is crucial to develop inexpensive, effective, and environmentally friendly methods for wastewater treatment and CO2 reduction, turning them into useful feedstocks. This study explores a unique method that addresses both challenges by utilizing ZnO, which is recognized as one of the most active semiconductors for photocatalysis, as well as a cost-effective electrocatalyst for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Specifically, we investigate the influence of the morphology of various ZnO nanostructures synthesized via different low-cost routes on their photocatalytic properties for degrading the rhodamine-B dye (RhB) and on their electrocatalytic performance for the CO2RR. Our results show that the ZnO lamella morphology achieves the best performance compared to the nanorod and nanoparticle structures. This outcome is likely attributed to the lamella’s higher aspect ratio, which plays a critical role in determining the structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO.
calcination , chemical precipitation , CO2 reduction reaction , electrocatalyst , microwave-assisted route , photocatalyst , rhodamine-B , zinc oxide
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
Department of General Physics, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, 10129, Italy
Center for Sustainable Future Technologies @Polito, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, 10144, Italy
National Nanotechnology Laboratory of Open Type, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Department of General Physics
Department of Applied Science and Technology
Center for Sustainable Future Technologies @Polito
National Nanotechnology Laboratory of Open Type
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026