Hydrothermal synthesis and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires

Single-crystalline ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal process. The as-synthesized ZnO nanowires have diameters of 50–80 nm and lengths of over 6 μm (the aspect ratios of ∼100). They show a strong UV emission at ∼392 nm using a Xe lamp as the excitation source at room temperature.