Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and Catalytic Performance of Carbon Nanotubes/Flower-Patterned Zinc Oxide Nanostructures

It is essential for multifunctional asphalt to develop the new nanostructures with high photocatalytic activity in order to endow asphalt with the self-cleaning ability of contamination. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes/ZnO (MWNTs/ZnO) composites were synthesized based on microwave irradiation and their structure and photocatalytic properties were investigated. The experimental results showed that MWNTs/ZnO powder with different morphologies was attained such as cone-shaped, floral-patterned and fusiform structures. The as-obtained MWNTs/ZnO composites were proved to possess quite high catalytic activities for degradation of methyl orange (MO). Especially, the floral-patternedMWNTs/ZnO composites displayed better photocatalytic performance than the other composites indicating that the resultant MWNTs/ZnO composites can be used as photocatalysts without any additional treatment.