Tuning of the Crystallite and Particle Sizes of ZnO Nanocrystalline Materials in Solvothermal Synthesis and Their Photocatalytic Activity for Dye Degradation

ZnO nanocrystalline materials with different crystallite and particle sizes were synthesized by the solvothermal approach. The structure and optical properties were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption isotherms, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM), and room temperature photoluminescence. It was found that the crystallite and particle sizes of ZnO nanocrystalline could be controlled by changing the solvent during the solvothermal synthesis. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of dye Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible irradiation. The individual effect of crystallite size and particle size on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO was studied using the ZnO nanocrystallites prepared in this work.