ZnO nanostructures grown on ITO coated glass substrate by hybrid microwave-assisted hydrothermal method

•ZnO nanostructures (NSs)grown by a single step simple MW-assisted hydrothermal method.•Compact 1D and 2D NSs array grown perpendicularly to ITO-coated substrate.•Electrical conductivity and photoluminescence emission modified by the treatment of the sol-gel seeded layer.•VIS transmittance between 80–90 % and green to yellow photoluminescence transmission.•Applications in sensing and electronics due to good electrical contacts with ITO and top-metal electrodes.