Development of hexagonal ZnO nanodisks for potential catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol

Hexagonal ZnO nanodisks (hZnO Nds) were synthesized via chemical precipitation and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Results of SEM, EDX and XRD showed that synthesized hZnO Nds has a length of ∼300 nm, porous with pore size of ∼50 nm along with areas that possessed relatively smooth surface, highly pure and crystalline nature. The catalytic reduction performance of hZnO Nds against p-nitrophenol was quantified by UV–visible spectrophotometry in aqueous medium in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH 4 ). The complete hZnO Nds based catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol (100%) occurred within 45 min. The hZnO Nds based catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol exhibited a significant response, suggesting low reduction limit and good selectivity. • Hexagonal ZnO nanodisks (hZnO Nds) were synthesized by chemical precipitation method. • The structure and morphology of hZnO Nds were confirmed by XRD and SEM imaging. • HZnO Nds possessed nanopores onto their surface as revealed by SEM imaging. • HZnO Nds were excellent catalysts of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol within 45 min.