Position and density control in hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorod arrays through pre-formed micro/nanodots

Position- and density-controlled ZnO nanorod arrays (ZNAs) were successfully grown on a Si substrate through a low temperature (90 °C) hydrothermal approach assisted by pre-formed ZnO micro/nanodots. The ZnO dots on Si substrates were prepared by a spin-coating technique, through which the pattern and density of the dots could be easily changed. Accordingly, the position- and density-controlled growth of ZNAs was achieved. For the resulting density-controlled ZNAs, the density could range from (5.6 ± 0.01) × 10(2) to (1.2 ± 0.01) × 10(2) rods µm(-2). The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZNAs exhibited excellent UV emission. The water wettability measurements of the ZNAs with different density showed good hydrophobicity, and the ZNAs with the lowest density revealed a superhydrophobic characteristic with a water contact angle of 166.1°.