Well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays were formed on indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrates via a low-temperature hydrothermal growth of a sol-gel-derived seed layer. The seed layer was heat treated at 300 degrees C for 10min prior to the hydrothermal growth using optimized conditions from our previous work to form well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays. Hydrothermal growth time was varied for 4, 8, 12 and 24h. Flat-top hexagonal ZnO nanorod arrays were obtained, and the length of the ZnO nanorods formed increased from approximately 150nm after 4h to approximately 2 mu m after 24h using a single reactive bath. X-ray diffraction patterns showed predominant ZnO peak at (002) plane for all the samples. Photoluminescence spectra of the ZnO nanorod arrays showed peaks at ultra-violet and green region, which indicated good crystalline crystal formation containing oxygen-related defects. Raman scattering results obtained showed strong band at 438cm(-1) that correlated to E-2 non-polar hexagonal wurtzite phase. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) based on the well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays were fabricated. The maximum conversion efficiency of 0.22% was achieved for the nanorods formed after a prolonged hydrothermal time of 24h. The conversion efficiency of the DSSC increased with hydrothermal exposure time as longer ZnO nanorods provided larger surface for dye adsorption to generate more electrons. Improved crystallinity of the ZnO nanorods provided at prolonged hydrothermal time also contributed to the higher conversion efficiency as the electron transportation was enhanced. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.