Abstract
Photocatalysis has been attracting an increasing interest due to its wide range applications in renewable energy and environmental remediation. Metal oxide semiconductors are among the best front-runners as photocatalysts due to their remarkable physical properties, durability and cost effectiveness. This review presents recent advances on photocatalytic aspect of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials for the degradation of methyl orange, which was chosen as model dye compound. A detailed account of various experimental methods resulting into different nanostructures of zinc oxide such as nanorods, needles, flowers, mushrooms etc. and their influence on photocatalytic ability as well as mechanism of photocatalysis is described. In addition, factors such as nanoparticle size, dye concentration, catalyst loading, solution pH and presence of H2O2 in reaction solution affecting photocatalytic efficiency of zinc oxide are also presented.