Controlling growth of ZnO nanostructures via a solution route

A solution method was developed for fabricating ZnO nanostructures using (NH4)2CO3 as starting material. SEM analysis shows that ZnO nanostructures exhibit nanorod, branch and flower-like morphologies. The crystal phase of as-synthesized products was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The growth process, formation mechanism and optical property were also discussed by means of transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM) and photoluminescence (PL). The growth direction of ZnO nanostructures was investigated based on the results of HRTEM. The PL spectrum shows two strong peaks (centered at around ∼387 and ∼470 nm) and a broad peak (centered at around ∼580 nm).