Synthesis of different morphologies of ZnO using different types of organic modifiers for the enhancement of catalytic activity

This study investigates the effect of different organic modifiers, such as urea, ethylene glycol, a urea–ethylene glycol mixture, citric acid, and ammonium hydroxide, on the morphology and characteristics of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via the hydrothermal method. Structural and optical characterizations were conducted utilizing XRD, FTIR, FESEM, and UV–Vis spectroscopy, demonstrating that the incorporation of these modifiers not only regulated particle size and morphology but also modified crystallinity and associated crystallographic attributes. Different morphologies such as, nanosheets (thickness ∼110 nm) with urea, spherical nanoparticles (∼90 nm) with ethylene glycol, nanosheets with surface imperfections (∼41 nm) with urea-ethylene glycol mixture, flower-like structures with citric acid, and nanorods (∼640 nm) with ammonium hydroxide, were produced. The crystallite sizes determined using the Scherrer equation range between 21.38 nm to 47.17 nm. The photocatalytic activity of the modified ZnO nanoparticles, evaluated from their degradation percentages, ranged from a minimum of 58.92% to a maximum of 94.80%. The findings emphasize the importance of organic modifiers in modifying the morphology, crystallinity, and photocatalytic effectiveness of ZnO nanoparticles, providing useful insights for creating new photocatalysts with excellent performance.