Growth of aligned arrays of ZnO nanorods by low temperature solution method on Si surface

We report growth of ZnO nanorods by low temperature (< 100 degrees C) solution growth method. The substrates (Si, glass and fused Quartz) were seeded by pre-coating with ZnO nanoparticles (4-7 nm diameter) prepared by chemical precipitation route. Nanorods were grown on the seeded substrate in aqueous solution of Zinc Nitrate and Hexamethylenetetramine (HMT). The growth process lasts for up to 8 h and at the maximum time of growth, the nanorods have a width of similar to 230-250 nm and length of similar to 1.5-1.6 mu m. The growth process after some initial growth (< 2 h) preserves the aspect ratio and leads to about 90% texturing along the (002) direction. The growth of the nanorods was studied with time and observed growth data suggests a two-stage growth process. The nanorods have a well-defined hexagonal morphology and have a Wurtzite structure. The nanorods were characterized by different techniques and have a band gap of 3.25 eV. (c) 2006 Springer Science+ Business Media, Inc.