Triangle-like ZnO nanosheets have been synthesized via conventional thermal evaporation method at a low temperature of 550 degrees C using CuO as catalyst. The obtained samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The great influences of Cu catalyst on the morphology of the obtained ZnO nanostructures were investigated. The field emission measurements confirmed that the ZnO nanosheets possessed good performance with a turn-on field of 3.1 V mu m (1) and a field enhancement factor of similar to 3250, which have promising application as a competitive cathode material in FE microelectronic devices. Room temperatures ferromagnetism has been observed in the triangle-like ZnO nanosheets, although the products consist of only nonmagnetic elements. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.