GaN nanorods were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by using catalyst-free hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). The effects of substrate temperature, Ga boat temperature, and Ga pretreatment on the surface morphology of GaN nanorods were investigated. From the dependence of a radial and axial growth rate on the substrate temperature, the kinetically limited process was found to be a rate determining step in the growth of GaN nanorods in HVPE. In addition, the activation energy of the growth along the both axial and radial directions were estimated. The dependence of a Ga boat temperature and the Ga pretreatment effect revealed that the density of nanorods were dependent on the flux of Ga species on the substrate. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.