Hydrogen production from methanol aqueous solution by ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructure photocatalysts

Photocatalytic H(2) generation was studied for a series of ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructure photocatalysts. Different ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructures were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method by adjusting the pH values of the solution and the concentration of dodecyl sulfate. Three different morphologies of the ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructure were synthesized and studied using SEM and XRD. The reflectance spectra revealed that the cone shaped ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructure (ZnO-C) had the lowest reflectivity of UV light. It was found that the photoelectronic properties depend on the morphology of the ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructures. The photocatalytic activity of these ZnO/Zn(OH)(2) macrostructure hybrids (about 0.070 mmol g(−1) h(−1)) were higher than that observed for ZnO nanorods (0.050 mmol g(−1) h(−1)). These results suggest the substantial potential of metal oxide materials with macrostructures in photocatalytic water splitting applications.