The growth and optical property of ZnO rods evolved from layered basic zinc acetate in humid atmosphere

ZnO rods can be obtained by putting the layered basic zinc acetate (LBZA) precursor into humid atmosphere. ZnO nuclei formed and grew from the surface of LBZA precursors due to the supersaturation of water evaporation. The effects of the humid atmosphere on the growth of rods are investigated from several aspects: (1) increasing the relative humidity (RH), LBZA precursor can evolve into nanorods; (2) as increasing the temperature of the humid atmosphere up to 60 °C, leads to large number of microrods. Further increasing the temperature up to 70 °C, many flower-like structures composed of ZnO microrods can be observed. The growth mechanisms of the various ZnO structures evolved from precursors are discussed based on the theories of nuclei and growth. Moreover, the ZnO rods display excellent optical properties.