Abd Rahman Marlan, Mauliady Satria, Mohammad Nahid Siddiqui, Tawfik A. Saleh, Suriati Eka Putri, Sitti Faika
Colloidal quantum dots have attracted sustained interest for over four decades due to their size-dependent optical properties and broad applications in optoelectronics, imaging, and catalysis. Yet, scalable and eco-friendly solid-state synthesis remains a major challenge. Here, we report a novel multigrowth-catalyst (MG-C) approach for synthesizing multi-emission ZnO@SiO2 quantum dots (Q-Dots) in powder form. The method harnesses droplet-induced ripple oscillations and zeta potential stabilization in aqueous NaCl to precisely control nucleation and growth. Compared with conventional sol–gel and bio-assisted ZnO photocatalysts, the resulting core–shell ZnO@SiO2 Q-Dots show (i) multiple tunable emission peaks, (ii) improved charge-carrier separation via the silica shell, and (iii) superior photocatalytic efficiency, achieving 99 % dye removal under sunlight and 98.6 % of methylene blue under UV light within 30 min at low catalyst loading. The MG-C strategy is simple, scalable, and environmentally benign, offering a promising route to advanced nanomaterials with tailored optical and catalytic functions. © 2025
Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry and IRC-Refining and Advanced Chemicals, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry and IRC-Advanced Materials, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
