Routes to Grow Well-Aligned Arrays of ZnSe Nanowires and Nanorods

Well-aligned ZnSe nanowires and nanorods can be grown on ZnSe epilayers on different GaAs substrates, with and without catalyst, by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Gold particles affect the number density, growth direction, and the morphology of the resulting nanostructures. In the absence of the gold catalyst, hexagonal nanorods grow along the <111> directions. Growth defects on the epilayers may be the nucleation sites of the nanorods.