The Influence of the Spatial Orientation of ZnO Nanorods on the Luminescence Spectrum

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were grown on glass substrates coated with a conducting indium tin oxide film using the hydrothermal method. The nanorods are 2–2.5 μm long and 70–200 nm in diameter. Under UV irradiation the nanorods exhibit photoluminescence with a maximum at 382 nm. It is found that changes in angle between the nanorods growth direction and the emission recording direction give rise to an appearance of a violet emission band centered at ～400 nm. It is possible dependence of the luminescence spectrum on the ZnO nanorods’ spatial orientation is due to localization of the violet emission centers in the surface layer.