Hydrothermal synthesis and optical study of bunches of ZnO nanowires

Bunches of ZnO nanowires have been synthesized by hydrothermal process with the assistance of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The obtained bunches of ZnO nanowires are hexagonal wurtzite structures, and they exhibit orange visible emission ~600 nm. It seems the orange emission ~600 nm is due to the presence of Zn(OH)₂ on the surface of ZnO nanowires. On the basis of material information provided by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence, a growth mechanism is proposed for the formation of bunches of ZnO nanowires.