ZnSSe alloy nanorods were prepared on gold (Au)-coated Si (100) substrates by the thermal evaporation of a mixture of ZnSe and ZnS powders. The nanorods were straight, 70-150 nm in width, and up to a few tens of micrometers in length. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated that the nanorods were ZnSSe single crystals with a wurtzite-type hexagonal close-packed structure. The photoluminescence measurements showed that the ZnSe nanorods had a strong emission band centered at approximately 500 nm in the blue-green region. The blue-green emission band corresponding to the deep-level emission of the ZnSSe nanorods showed no shift. On the other hand, a shoulder of the band in the blue region corresponding to the near-band edge (NBE) emission band shifted continuously from 466 nm to a lower wavelength region with increasing composition x in ZnSe(1-x)S(x) from 0 to 0.41. The blue-green emission intensity of the ZnSSe nanrods also increased with increasing composition x. The enhancement of blue-green emission might be due to the increase in structural defects, such as dislocations and stacking faults in the nanorods. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.