Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays had been synthesized on the COOH-terminated short-chain silane surfaces for the first time by a polymer/substrate cooperative interaction method. The growth of the products on the self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) was well controlled by the electrostatic interaction and the polymer assistant hydrogen bonding interaction. By adjusting the polymer molecule assistant effect, ZnO arrays with satisfying optical quality and photoresponse property were obtained. These products showed a promising application in the ultraviolet emitting and the photoelectronic devices. This bio-inspired SAMs/polymer cooperative strategy on the short-chain silane shows prominent advantages such as its low-cost, easy preparation, good adherence and suitability for preparing series of one-dimensional (I-D) semiconductor nanostructure arrays, etc. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.