In this study, the different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures were directly synthesized from solution by the titration of the solution of Zn(Ac)(2)center dot H2O into the dilute solution of NaOH at 80 degrees C under the electric field of 0-0.5 kV cm(-1). The nanorods with the length above 2 mu m and the 40 nm in diameter were obtained under the electric field of 0.5 kV cm(-1), whereas the rice-liked nanoparticles with the grain size similar to 40 nm were obtained without electric field. Therefore, the morphologies of ZnO can be changed by a high electric field during synthesis. The study provides a new approach to ZnO nanorods from solution near room temperature. Any surfactants and additives are not necessary and thus the unintentional impurities are avoided to simplify the crystallization processing of ZnO nanorods. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.