Herein, pre-seeded fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates were used as an electrode for zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) growth by a low-temperature solution route in order to fabricate binder free high-sensitive chemical sensor. The vertically-grown ZnO NRs exhibited a more favorable active morphology and improved sensing properties for p-nitroaniline (pNA) detection. On investigation with different concentrations of pNA, the ZnO NRs/FTO electrode showed an excellent sensitivity (10.18 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2)) and low detection limit (0.5 mu M) with good selectivity, outstanding long-term stability, and high reproducibility. Collectively, the present work emphasizes the potency of ZnO NRs/FTO electrodes for fabrication of an efficient and reliable chemical sensing device with improved performances. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.