Synthesis and ultraviolet emission of aligned ZnO rod-on-rod nanostructures

Aligned ZnO rod-on-rod nanostructures were synthesized on silicon substrate via a simple thermal evaporation process at low temperature without catalysts. Pictures taken with the use of the scanning electron microscope demonstrate that the well-ordered ZnO rod-on-rod nanostructures grow on the Si substrate, and the single nanostructure consists of two parts. Transmission electron microscopy image and the selected area electron diffraction pattern indicate that the single-crystal nanorod grows along [0001] direction. The X-ray diffraction pattern proves that the samples have good crystal quality. The detailed nanorod growth mechanism is proposed and discussed. The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum shows the dominant ultraviolet emission, which indicates their potential application in ultraviolet optoelectronic devices. The temperature-dependent PL spectra reveal that the strong ultraviolet emission should originate from the longitudinal optical phonon replicas of free exciton.