Ultra-long and laterally aligned Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays were directly synthesized around the edges of SiNx micro pores by using a facile and effective chemical vapour deposition process without any catalysts or additives. ZnO nanorods can grow controllably with a preferential orientation as a bridge beyond the edges and gradually seal into a planar free-standing mesh layer. The optimized growth parameters have been thoroughly investigated and identified. A vapour solid synthesis mechanism with source vapour flow rate control has been tentatively proposed on the basis of the experimental data to explain the synthesis: ZnO nanodots first form around the edges of pores due to the local large binding energy and high Zinc (Zn) vapour concentration, and subsequently nanorods grow epitaxially from the nanodots. This precisely-controlled micro pore sealing approach is an important step toward a coherent mechanism for applications in DNA extraction, separation and the next generation DNA sequencing. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.