Growth of ZnO nanorod arrays by sol–gel method: transition from two-dimensional film to one-dimensional nanostructure

ZnO nanorod arrays were prepared by a sol–gel method in the present work. The effects of doping concentration and annealing time on the morphologies of ZnO:Al (ZAO) layers were investigated to clearly explore the growth process of ZnO nanorods by designing gradient structures and adjusting the annealing time. The results show that the doping level in the films is a key factor for the formation of nanorods and they cannot form at a low doping level. Out-of-plane anisotropic grain growth instead of the traditional in-plane coarsening process is observed with increasing annealing time. The growth model of nanorods is proposed in terms of the surface diffusion and Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier (ES barrier) theory.