Ultraviolet-emitting, single-crystalline aligned javelin-like zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were synthesized on copper foil by thermal evaporation at low temperature of 500 degrees C without catalysts or additives. Detailed structural characterizations confirmed that the formed products are single-crystalline, they possess a wurtzite hexagonal phase and are grown along the c-axis direction. Raman-active optical-phonon E-2 mode at 437 cm(-1) with sharp and strong UV emission at 381 nm in room-temperature photoluminescence spectrum showed that the obtained ZnO nanorods have a good crystal quality with excellent optical properties. Moreover, a detailed growth mechanism was proposed for the formation of the javelin-like ZnO nanorods. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.