Fabrication and Optical Properties of Urchin-like ZnO Nanowire Arrays

A low-cost and effective method to fabricate hexagonally patterned urchin-like ZnO nanowire arrays was demonstrated.The ordered monolayer of polystyrene(PS) spheres is obtained by self-assembly,and the monolayer is used as a template to grow ZnO nanowires with complex hierarchical structures via hydrothermal method.The urchin-like ZnO nanowire arrays are composed of PS sphere and ZnO nanowires.The nanowires have uniform diameter,and the length of the nanowires can be controlled by the growth time.This method provides a promising way to fabricate ZnO one-dimensional nanostructures for applications as sensor arrays,solar cells and photocatalysis.