In this work, a new method for the synthesis of ZnO nanocoatings is presented. It was tested for the nanocoating of silica nanoparticles forming core/shell SiO2/ZnO nanoparticles by the decomposition of zinc acetate in silica aqueous nanodispersions induced by electrons generated by a plate indium photocathode, which was irradiated with a UV Hg lamp with maximum intensity at the wavelength of 245 nm. The ZnO nanocoatings were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UVVis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PLS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that ZnO of hexagonal structure formed nanocoatings with the mean thickness of 13 nm. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanocoatings was verified by the photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue (MB). Such nanocoating procedure based on the electron-induced decomposition of suitable metal salts could be a promising method for various applications in nanotechnology. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.