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Various NiO/ZnO heterostructures have been prepared by a facile solvothermal method combined with subsequent calcination process. By adjusting the adding proportion of Ni/Zn, the superior performance in photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TC) can be achieved in porous NiO/ZnO flower-like microstructures consisting of interlaced nanosheet/particle framework. Compared with NiO hollow microspheres, flower-like NiO/ZnO samples exhibit the enhanced photocatalytic performance with high efficiency of 92% within 30 min as well as good photocatalytic cycle stability to TC, which is mainly ascribed to the combination of larger specific surface area (162.1 m2/g), unique surface/interface effect, faster electron/hole separation, and higher electron transmission. This work paves the way for other oxide composites applied as novel photocatalysts based on the design and construction of interlaced nanosheet/particle heterostructures.

Cubic-like In2O3/α-Fe2O3 heterostructures assembled with 2D porous nanoplates have been prepared by solvothermal method and subsequent calcination process. The introduction of Fe3+ component plays an important role for the morphological evolution of In2O3-based samples with unique crystal nucleation and growth mechanism. Compared with flower-like In2O3 self-assemblies composed of tower-like structural units, In2O3/α-Fe2O3 composites can display superior trimethylamine (TEA) gas-sensing behavior. For example, the optimal working temperature is reduced from 250 to 170 °C, and the response value of In/Fe-2 materials is 375.43, which is about 6.23 times than that of In2O3 sensors. The enhanced gas-sensing properties are mainly attributed to large specific surface area (234.4 m2/g), the effective In2O3-α-Fe2O3 heterojunctions, unique surface/interface effects, and tunable electron transmission mechanism.

ZIF-67-induced double-tubular 1D CeO2/Co3O4 heterostructures have been prepared by an electrospinning method with tunable morphological evolution mechanism. As the adding amount of ZIF-67 increasing, the morphologies of CeO2-based nanomaterials are changed from porous granular nanobelt to smooth curly shape, and finally formed a double-tubular structure. The optimal CeO2/Co3O4 products consisting of well-dispersed double-tubular nanostructure with the external diameter of about 200 nm display high specific surface area of 196.05 m2g−1 and superior photocatalytic performance of methylene blue (MB). The rapid degradation rate of 97% within 40 min and high cycling stability without significant decrease of photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the unique electron transfer synergetic mechanism based on the combination of double-tubular microstructure and CeO2/Co3O4 heterojunctions.