SDBS structure-directing the synthesis of ZnO mesocrystal with high photocatalytic performance to organic dyes

ZnO mesocrystal can combine the high surface area and reactivity benefits of nano ZnO with the advantages of larger microparticles, such as resistance to aggregation and ease of separation from solution. In this work, hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) was used as a hydroxide source and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a structure-directing additive to synthesize ZnO mesocrystal with high photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate of rhodamine b (RhB) was applied as the target parameter to optimize the conditions for the synthesis of ZnO mesocrystal. Under the optimal conditions, the as-synthesized ZnO mesocrystal displayed a pompon-like assembly, which demonstrated high photocatalytic performance to degrade all the test dyes including rhodamine b, methylene blue, crystal violet and methyl orange. The large specific surface area and porosity resulting from the crosslinking-sheet shaped assemblies mainly activated the high photocatalytic performance. Hydroxyl (·OH) is the main active free radical, produced by holes obtaining electrons on OH − deprotonated from water molecules on the surface of the photocatalyst. It can be concluded that sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate is a potential structure-directing additive to synthesize ZnO mesocrystal with high photocatalytic performance.