Nanoplate-Built
ZnO Hollow Microspheres Decorated with Gold Nanoparticles and Their
Enhanced Photocatalytic and Gas-Sensing Properties
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Abstract
Hierarchical porous ZnO microspheres
decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were successfully synthesized
by a facile solvothermal route. The hierarchical ZnO superstructure
was constructed of interconnected nanoplates with numerous voids.
Photoluminescence, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron
paramagnetic resonance measurements demonstrated that the main defects
were oxygen vacancies (<i>V</i><sub>O</sub><sup>•</sup>) with minor interstitial oxygen (O<sub>i</sub><sup>–</sup>) in the hierarchical ZnO hollow microspheres. The as-prepared hierarchical
ZnO hollow microspheres and the AuNPs used to decorate them were examined
for their photocatalytic degradation ability and as gas sensors. The
photodegradation results demonstrated that the degradation rate constant
on rhodamine B for undecorated ZnO microspheres was 0.43 min<sup>–1</sup>, which increased to 1.76 min<sup>–1</sup> for AuNP-decorated
ZnO microspheres. The AuNP-functionalized ZnO microspheres displayed
superior sensing properties, with a 3-fold enhancement in their gas
response to 1 ppb of dibutyl phthalate