A zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod based surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor has been developed and investigated towards hydrogen (H-2) gas. The ZnO nanorods were deposited onto a layered ZnO/64 degrees YX LiNbO3 substrate using a liquid solution method. Micro-characterization results revealed that the diameters of ZnO nanorods are around 100 and 40 nm on LiNbO3 and An (metallization for electrodes), respectively. The sensor was exposed to different concentrations of H2 in synthetic air at operating temperatures between 200 degrees C and 300 degrees C. The study showed that the sensor responded with highest frequency shift at 265 degrees C. At this temperature, stable baseline and fast response and recovery were observed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.