We report the structural properties and local electronic structure of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods fabricated on silicon substrate without external catalyst by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction and morphological studies reveal the hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with preferential orientation along the (002) crystallographic plane and vertical alignment of the ZnO nanorods. Angle dependent X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy measurements of the vertically aligned ZnO nanorods at O K and Zn L-edges divulge that the tip and side wall surfaces of the nanorods are terminated by the oxygen and zinc ions respectively.
