Low-cost synthesis of hierarchical ZnO/CaCO3 nanostructures with interface composition-enhanced photocatalysis

Hierarchical ZnO/CaCO 3 was successfully fabricated using CaCO 3 as a template. • Low-cost hydrothermal-calcination synthesis strategy was applied. • Excellent photocatalytic degradation of RhB, MB, and TC under sunlight. • Superior cycling stability and reusability. Three-dimensional hierarchical ZnO-based nanostructures have garnered considerable attention due to their unique optoelectronic characteristics. However, their synthesis typically requires complex procedures and expensive hydrophobic surfactants. To overcome this challenge, we developed a straightforward and economical hydrothermal-calcination approach to fabricate hierarchical mesoporous ZnO/CaCO 3 nanostructures. Environmentally friendly nano CaCO 3 , synthesized via a simple precipitation method, were used as growth templates for flower-like Zn 5 (CO 3 ) 2 (OH) 6 . After calcination, a flower-like ZnO/CaCO 3 structure composed of mesoporous nanosheets was obtained. This unique architecture endowed the material with a high BET surface area and a favorable mesoporous structure, resulting in outstanding photocatalytic performance. Under simulated solar light irradiation for 90 min, the material achieved degradation rates of 99.9% for methylene blue (MB), 94.9% for tetracycline (TC), and 98.3% for rhodamine B (RhB). This study presents a low-cost strategy for synthesizing hierarchical semiconductor nanostructures with tailored interfacial composition for high-performance photocatalytic applications. Download: Download high-res image (299KB) Download: Download full-size image