A simple and novel low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanorods

A new simple low-temperature hydrothermal process without addition of any surfactant or complexing agent was put forward to synthesize uniform ZnO nanorods, in which hydrazine hydrate instead of NaOH was used as mineralizer. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy were used to characterize the product, the results of which reveal that uniform ZnO nanorods approximately 70 nm in width and 2 mu m in length were formed at 150 degrees C within 8 h. Prior to the hydrothermal process hydrazine hydrate reacted with ZnCl2 solution to form a complex, and the complex slowly decomposed in the hydrothermal process. All these characteristics were favorable to this additive-free hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanorods.