Growth and morphology of ZnO nanorods prepared from Zn(NO3)2/NaOH solutions

ZnO nanorods on ZnO-coated seed surfaces were fabricated by a solution chemical method using supersaturated Zn(NO3)2/NaOH solution. The seed surfaces were coated on glass substrates by sol–gel processing and PEG addition. The mechanism of crystal growth and the factors affecting the rod growth were elucidated. The morphology and structure of both the seed surface and successive nanorods were analyzed by using SEM, XRD, TEM and SAED. Nucleation on the ZnO seed surface is crucial for rod growth since rods can only be observed on ZnO-coated substrates. Supersaturation is also required for rod growth and the Zn2+ ion and NaOH concentrations must be varied synchronously to maintain the high level of supersaturation. The average diameter and length of the ZnO nanorods increase to different degree with increasing precursor concentration. The dependence of rod growth on temperature shows that the maximum rod growth rate at any given concentration of Zn2+ occurs at a specific temperature, and the optimal temperature increases with Zn2+ ion concentration. Densely thick nanorods oriented perpendicularly to the substrate can be obtained by controlling the seed surface with PEG assistance.