Nanostructured ZnO materials have unique and highly attractive properties and have inspired interest in their research and development. This paper presents a facile method for the preparation of novel ZnO-based nanostructured architectures using a metal organic framework (MOF) as a precursor. In this approach, ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO@C hybrid composites were produced under several heating and atmospheric (air or nitrogen) conditions. The resultant ZnO nanoparticles formed hierarchical aggregates with a three-dimensional cubic morphology. whereas ZnO@C hybrid composites consisted of faceted ZnO crystals embedded within a highly porous carbonaceous species, as determined by several characterization methods. The newly synthesized nanomaterials showed relatively high photocatalytic decomposition activity and significantly enhanced adsorption capacities for organic pollutants. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.