Abstract:
Metal to bulk metal oxide nanoparticles have been successfully processed via a sustainable, facile, and
ecofriendly (green) approach, namely, aqueous mechanicaloxidation. Micron-sized zinc (Zn) dust (∼45 μm) was directly wet-milled using ceramic milling media for 72 h, resulting in the production of bulk monocrystalline ZnO nanorods (aspect ratio ∼5.2, hydrodynamic diameter of 315 nm) and voluminous H2 gas by catalyst-free water-splitting reaction. The mill-induced surface oxidation and the chemical purity of the synthesized nano ZnO were carefully studied using the XPS analysis. Other standard analytical tools were also employed to understand the crystallinity, phase purity, morphology, and surface area of the final artifact. The photocatalytic activities of these mechanically grown ZnO nanorods were ascertained from two cationic dye-degradation
experiments, using the dyes methylene blue and rhodamine 6G. In a nutshell, the study throws a new insight into a cost-effective, zero-effluent, single-step, and parallel-processing approach of two high-value products, bulk nano ZnO and catalyst-free H2 gas from micronic Zn dust.
