Synthesis of zinc oxide nanostructures catalytically active in the optical range without irradiation

A technique for synthesizing catalytically active zinc oxide-based nanostructures is described. The synthesis product represents a blue-gray powder. When it is introduced into a water solution of methyl orange the latter bleaches out both under daylight and in the dark. The activity of the material is measured by the Kubelka-Munk formula in the wavelength range 0.3–1.8 μm. As follows from X-ray phase analysis data, the synthesized material is a composite consisting of hexagonal structures with the parameters ZnO a: 3.2491, c: 5.2046] and Zn a: 2.6639, c: 4.9397]. A mechanism underlying the formation of a ZnO-Zn nanocomposite is suggested.