“…The large aspect ratio of the nanorods generates a high field enhancement factor and hence high electron emission [8]. Therefore, such nanowires and nanorods have increasingly been investigated for employment in portable, highly efficient and long-life cold cathode fluorescent lamps for liquid crystal display (LCD) backlight and front light applications [9,10] whilst demand for slim, light LCDs with low power consumption is continually expanding at rapid pace for usage in a wide range of applications such as PC monitors, TV panels, digital still cameras, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones and notebook PCs [11,12]. This has led to considerable efforts being spent on the search for cost-effective synthesis of well ordered 1D array of vertically aligned nanorods with precise control over dimensions [13e16].…”