A simple efficient thermal evaporation technique, oxidizing zinc foils and in situ evaporating at 700 degrees C in air without the presence of catalyst and carrier gas, was developed to control the growth of the different morphologies of ZnO nano- and micro-structures. Porous membrane, nanowires (or nanorods), nanobelts, nanoneedles, and tetrapods have been achieved through tuning the heating rates in a tube furnace. The morphologies and microstructures of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Our deterministic growth of different shapes of ZnO crystals offers ideal model system to study the physical properties. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.