The effect of growth pressure on the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures in chemical vapor transport by using Zn powder and oxygen as source materials has been investigated. Highly uniform aligned ZnO nanorods or multifaceted tripod structures were grown depending on the growth pressure. The mechanism governing the morphology change was explained by the relative concentration of Zn vapor and supersaturation based on experimental observations. It was concluded that heterogeneous nucleation on the substrate is enhanced at low growth pressure, while homogeneous nucleation from vapor phase is enhanced at high growth pressure. The difference resulted in different morphology of ZnO nanostructures. ZnO nanorods grown at optimized condition were used for the fabrication of gas sensor for the detection of H-2 gas. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.