This paper reports on the high photocatalytic activity of ZnO tetrapods (ZnO-Ts) using visible/solar light and hydrodynamic water flow. It was shown that surface oxygen defects are a key factor in the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO-Ts. The ability to control the surface wettability of the ZnO-Ts and the associated concentration of surface defects was demonstrated. It was demonstrated that the photocatalytic activity during the MB decomposition process under direct and simulated sunlight is essentially identical. This presents excellent prospects for utilizing the material in solar photocatalysis.

Department of Physics Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Brno University of Technology 61600 Brno Czech Republic

Federal Research Center Crystallography and Photonics Russian Academy of Sciences 119333 Moscow Russia

Institute of Radiation Problems of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences AZ1143 Baku Azerbaijan

Smart Materials Laboratory Dagestan State University 367000 Makhachkala Russia

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