Facile and controllable growth of ZnO 1D nanostructure arrays on Zn substrate by hydrothermal process

ZnO nanorod, nanowire and nanotube arrays have been synthesized respectively on Zn substrates using a simple hydrothermal method. The morphology, size, length, density and uniformity of ZnO nanostructures can be well controlled by changing the different reaction conditions. The effects of substrates, temperature, positive and negative ions on the growth of nanostructure have been studied in detail. The results indicate that the addition of MgCl2 facilitates the growth of ZnO nanowires with higher density and formation of well-aligned nanowire arrays. The use of ammonia induces growth of longer nanowires but with lower density. PL spectrum show only strong UV emission at 385 nm, and no green band emission was observed, suggesting the excellent crystal quality of the nanowires.