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In this paper, we report the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) by forced solvolysis of Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O in alcohols with a different number of –OH groups. We study the influence of alcohol type (n-butanol, ethylene glycol and glycerin) on the size, morphology, and properties of the obtained ZnO NPs. The smallest polyhedral ZnO NPs (<30 nm) were obtained in n-butanol, while in ethylene glycol the NPs measured on average 44 nm and were rounded. Polycrystalline particles of 120 nm were obtained in glycerin only after water refluxing. In addition, here, we report the photocatalytic activity, against a dye mixture, of three model pollutants: methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), and rhodamine B (RhB), a model closer to real situations where water is polluted with many chemicals. All samples exhibited good photocatalytic activity against the dye mixture, with degradation efficiency reaching 99.99%. The sample with smallest nanoparticles maintained a high efficiency >90%, over five catalytic cycles. Antibacterial tests were conducted against Gram-negative strains <i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovar Typhimurium, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa,</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and Gram-positive strains <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i>, <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, and <i>Bacillus cereus</i>. The ZnO samples presented strong inhibition of planktonic growth for all tested strains, indicating that they can be used for antibacterial applications, such as water purification.