Temperature-dependent controlled preparation of ZnO nanostructures and their photoluminescence properties

High purity and yield of ZnO nanobelts, nanocombs and nanowires have been synthesized using a simple catalyst-free vapor transport process and their growth mechanism and photoluminescence properties have been investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and selected-area electron diffraction analyses reveal that the intrinsic growth behaviors of ZnO vary with the growth temperature, leading to the formation of nanostructures with different morphologies. These ZnO nanostructures show a UV emission at about 385 nm and a broad green emission around 500 nm in their photoluminescence spectra, and the green to UV emission intensity ratio is determined by their microstructures.