Simple synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of La-modified ZnO nanosheet-assembled flower-like microstructures

La-modified ZnO nanosheet-assembled flower-like microstructures, were successfully obtained through a facile two-step solution-based strategy including a simple aqueous solution and subsequent impregnation technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectrometer (UV-Vis) were employed to characterize the morphology, composition, crystal structure and photocatalytic properties of prepared products in detail. The photocatalysis test results revealed that the La-modified ZnO nanoflowers displayed greatly enhanced catalytic performance and the decomposition efficiency was up to about 99.60%, which was mainly ascribed to the increased charge separation rate on the La-modified surface of ZnO nanosheets and the high surface area of the flower-like structure.