Synthesis of zinc oxide microrods and nano-fibers with dominant exciton emission at room temperature

► Microrods and nano-fibers resulted with good optical quality and with preferential crystalline growth in [1 0 1 0] and [0 0 0 1] directions. ► Microrods and nano-fibers resulted with good emission efficiency supported by the not-required high energy densities to obtain strong exciton emission. ► The wet chemical method is appropriated for deposition of microrods and nano-fibers with the desired optical properties for its possible application in photonics.