ZnO nanocapsules for photocatalytic degradation of thionine

This paper reports the successful synthesis of ZnO nanocapsules and their utilization as a photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of thionine. The nanocapsules were synthesized by facile hydrothermal process and characterized in detail in terms of their morphological, structural and optical properties. The detailed studies revealed that the synthesized nanocapsules possess well-crystalline and good optical properties. By utilizing the as-synthesized ZnO nanocapsules as a photocatalyst, significant photocatalytic degradation was observed towards thionine dye under light illumination. The considerable photo-degradation of thionine dye was due to the unique morphology and high surface area of synthesized ZnO nanocapsules which might import the effective electron/hole separation and might generate the large number of oxy-radicals. ► Facile growth of ZnO nanocapsules by hydrothermal process. ► Morphological, structural, optical and compositional characterization of ZnO nanocapsules. ► Efficient utilization of ZnO nanocapsules for the photocatalytic degradation of thionine dye. ► Effective degradation of thionine dye when utilizing ZnO nanocapsules.