Fabrication of hierarchical core-shell Au@ZnO heteroarchitectures initiated by heteroseed assembly for photocatalytic applications.
Three dimensional dandelion-like hierarchical core-shell Au@ZnO heteroarchitectures with ZnO nanorods grown radially on Au nanoparticle (NP) cores have been successfully prepared with a high yield via a simple solution method involving heteroseed-induced nucleation and subsequent heteroepitaxial growth processes. Briefly, mercaptopropionic acid (MA) modified Au NPs were synthesized beforehand and served as nucleation centers for primary ZnO seed generation and Au@ZnO heteroseed formation. Then an epitaxial growth of ZnO nanorods (ZnO NRs) on the Au@ZnO heteroseeds resulted in the formation of Au@ZnO dandelions. The photocatalytic properties of as-prepared Au@ZnO dandelions were evaluated through rhodamine B (RhB) photodegradation under UV irradiation. The result showed that the Au@ZnO dandelions had improved photocatalytic performance compared with pure ZnO NRs and hybrids of ZnO NRs/Au NPs, due likely to the synergistic effect of the metal-semiconductor heterojunction and the unique dandelion-like hierarchical core-shell structure.
Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, School of Medicine, Department of Chemistry, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
Yao
Y
Qin
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
Yanjie
Y
Zhou
Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, School of Medicine, Department of Chemistry, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Li
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Ma
Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, School of Medicine, Department of Chemistry, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China; Materials Science and Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA.
Donglu
D
Shi
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3200 North Cramer Street, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA. Electronic address: jhchen@uwm.edu.
Junhong
J
Chen
Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, School of Medicine, Department of Chemistry, Tongji University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai 200092, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: yangjinhu2010@gmail.com.
Jinhu
J
Yang
D002384:Catalysis; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D010782:Photolysis; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012235:Rhodamines; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D006046:Gold; C029773:rhodamine B; C023884:thiolactic acid; D015034:Zinc Oxide
Au nanoparicles; Core–shell; Heterostructures; Hierarchical; Photocatalysis; ZnO nanorod arrays