Metal oxide semiconductors such as ZnO have attracted much scientific attention due their material and electrical properties and their ability to form nanostructures that can be used in numerous devices. However, ZnO is naturally n-type and tailoring its electrical properties towards intrinsic or p-type in order to optimise device operation have proved difficult. Here, we present an x-ray photon-electron spectroscopy and photoluminescence study of ZnO nanowires that have been treated with different argon bombardment treatments including with monoatomic beams and cluster beams of 500 atoms and 2000 atoms with acceleration volte of 0.5 keV–20 keV. We observed that argon bombardment can remove surface contamination which will improve contact resistance and consistency. We also observed that using higher intensity argon bombardment stripped the surface for nanowires causing a reduction in defects and surface OH– groups both of which are possible causes of the n-type nature and observed a shift in the valance band edge suggest a shift to a more p-type nature. These results indicate a simple method for tailoring the electrical characteristic of ZnO.