ZnO powder was mechanically milled in a ball mill. This procedure was found to greatly increase its evaporation ability. The anomalous evaporation behaviour was caused by the disordered structure of the milled material and was not related to the increase in its surface area after milling. ZnO nanowires were synthesized by evaporation of this milled precursor. Nanowires with smooth and rough surfaces were present in the sample; the latter morphology was dominant. A green emission band centred at

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... 510 nm was dominant in the cathodoluminescence spectrum of the nanowires.