Self-assembled ZnO quasi-microspheres constructed of tunable building blocks have been grown directly through a facile liquid process The effects of preparation parameters such as the amounts of triethanolamine (TEA) and types of zinc counterions (SO42- CH3COO-) on the morphology of building blocks (BLs) have been examined Experimental data show that TEA has played a dual key function in the self-assembly process namely one is to regulate the morphology of BLs and the other is to induce the oriented attachment of these particles A rational formation mechanism is proposed on the basis of detailed results of FESEM TEM and zeta potentials tests The overall formation of 3-D self-assembled ZnO quasi-microspheres can be summarized as (a) growth of ZnO building blocks (b) preassembly of these BLs into small aggregates (c) further assembly of these aggregates to form special 3-D architectures XRD and Raman spectra show that the self-assembled quasi-microspheres have wuitzite structures Room-temperature PL spectra indicate that they have a potential application as ultraviolet emitters This work presents a simple route using common organic molecules TEA as growth modifiers to the fabrication of novel 3-D self-assembled ZnO superstructures (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved