Title:	Hydrothermal Synthesis of High-PerformanceZnO Nanorods for Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants.
Authors:	MARRENJO, G. J. NUNES, P. H. H. AUGUSTO, K. K. L. ALMEIDA, J. C. de RIBEIRO, C. PATROCÍNIO, A. O. T. LOPES, O. F.
Affiliation:	FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, UBERLÂNDIA, MINAS GERAIS FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, UBERLÂNDIA FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, UBERLÂNDIA CAUE RIBEIRO DE OLIVEIRA, CNPDIA FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, UBERLÂNDIA FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF UBERLÂNDIA, UBERLÂNDIA.
Date Issued:	2026
Citation:	ACS Omega, v. 11, 2026.
Pages:	24725−24738
Description:	Excessive production and indiscriminate use of organicpollutantshavecausedsevereenvironmental imbalances. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has emerged as a promising approach for the degradation of these contaminants. However, thedevelopmentofphotocatalystswithhighactivityandstability remains a key challenge. Thisworkdescribes the hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO-based photocatalysts, carried out at different temperatures (25, 100, 150, and 200 °C), followed by an evaluation of their performance as photocatalysts in the degradationof organicpollutants (methyleneblue, rhodamineB, amiloride and ciprofloxacin). ZnO samples exhibited rod-like morphology, especiallyinthesamplessynthesizedat100°C.The ZnO-100 sample showed greater efficiency in the photo degradationof all organicpollutants.Theenhancedperformancecanbeattributedto itshighest specificsurfaceareaandphase mixturebetweenZnOandZn(OH)2.ThephasetransitionfromzinchydroxidetoZnOmayhave influencedthe formationof a morphologythatenhancedphotocatalyticactivity.Fluorescenceanalysisusingterephthalicacid(TA)asaprobeforOH•,combined withradicalscavengingexperiments, revealedthatO2 −•playthedominantroleinthephotocatalyticdegradationprocess, indicating anindirect reactionmechanism.Thismechanismisconsistentwiththeobservednonselectivityof theZnOsamples inremoving pollutants fromdifferent chemical classes. TheZnOsample exhibited good stability over four consecutive reuse cycles and maintainedhighphotocatalyticactivityacross abroadpHrange(4−9).Overall, thehydrothermalmethodprovedeffective for producingZnOnanorodswithhighphotocatalyticperformancefororganicpollutantdegradation.
Keywords:	Hydrothermal conditions Hexagonal crystalline structure
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.6c01314
Type of Material:	Artigo de periódico
Access:	openAccess
Appears in Collections:	Artigo em periódico indexado (CNPDIA)