Novel photoluminescence properties and enhanced photocatalytic activities for V2O5-loaded ZnO nanorods.

Three different kinds of V2O5/ZnO heteronanorods were synthesized through a CVD process and oxidized in air at temperatures of 350, 420 and 500 °C. These 1D heteronanorods were formed from ZnO nanorods (NRs) coated with V2O5 nanoparticles (NPs). With the rise of oxidation temperature, the coated V2O5 NPs were found to be growing and their crystallinity gradually improved. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra for these V2O5/ZnO samples exhibited some novel characteristics, such as the appearance of new emission peaks, the variation in PL intensity, and the tremendously enhanced visible emission for the 500 °C sample. Photocatalysis investigation for all V2O5/ZnO samples showed enhanced photocatalytic activities compared to their single-component counterparts. Furthermore, their photocatalytic activities were also influenced by the oxidation temperature. The 350 °C sample showed the highest photocatalytic activity, and gradually decreased photocatalytic activities were observed for the other two samples. The novel PL properties and enhanced photocatalytic activities were attributed to the coupling between ZnO NRs and V2O5 NPs, and can be attributed to the collective effect of the V-doped ZnO layer near the interface, the decreased defect concentration in V2O5 NPs, and the improved particle crystallinity.