Synthesis of ZnO nanostructures on CuO catalyzed porous silicon substrate

Mass production of ZnO nanobelts, cuboid nanorods, and hexagonal nanorods has been successfully synthesized on CuO catalyzed porous silicon (PS) using the simple vapor–solid (VS) growth method. Deionized water is a critical experimental parameter for the synthesis of different morphology of ZnO nanostructures. A comparison of their morphologies was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that ZnO nanobelts and nanorods are single crystalline with the growth direction of (0110) and (0001), respectively. A strong room-temperature photoluminescence in ZnO nanostructures has been demonstrated.