We synthesized p-type Zn0.98Li0.02O and Zn0.96Li0.02Ni0.02O nanorods in conjunction with pristine n-type ZnO nanorods, which are further, used in synthesizing ZnO nanorods based homojunction diodes using a simple two-step solution process. The XRD analysis showed that lattice parameters of the doped samples have no significant changes in comparison to pristine ZnO, substantiating uniform doping. The cross-sectional images of the homojunction substantiate the formation of the p-n junction. The UV-Vis spectroscopy measurement showed the lowering of the optical band gap for Zn0.96Li0.02Ni0.02O nanorods. The presence of higher oxygen vacancies in Zn0.96Li0.02Ni0.02O nanorods is noticed in photoluminescence measurements. The acceptor concentration is ∼1.43 × 1018/cm3 for Zn0.96Li0.02Ni0.02O nanorods and is higher with respect to Zn0.98Li0.02O nanorods. We observed large rectification ratio ∼892 with a lower turn-on voltage ∼3.4 V for Zn0.96Li0.02Ni0.02O based homojunction, relatively better than that of Zn0.98Li0.02O based homojunction. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd