Oriented growth of ZnO nanostructures on Si and Al substrates

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays and oriented ZnO nanoplates were synthesized on Si and Al substrates, respectively, using a hydrothermal method without any surfactant. The process involved the deposition of ZnO seeds on the substrate and the oriented growth of ZnO nanostructure in aqueous solution. The ZnO seeds were indispensable for the alignment of ZnO nanorods and TEM and XRD analysis confirmed that the ZnO rods are single crystalline grown along [001] direction. Al substrate caused formation of (001) surface dominated ZnO nanoplates, in which ZnO preferential growth direction was suppressed. The photoluminescence spectra of the as-grown ZnO products were measured to indicate their structural and optical quality. These oriented ZnO nanostructures are expected to be prospectively applied in nanodevices fabrication.