Defect generation of rutile-type SnO 2 nanocondensates: Imperfect oriented attachment and phase transformation

Abstract

The rutile-type SnO 2 nanocondensates as condensed by Nd-YAG laser ablation on Sn target under oxygen background gas were characterized by analytical electron microscopy to have {110}, {100} and {101} facets, which are beneficial for {∼ hkl } vicinal attachment to form edge dislocations, faults and twinned bicrystals. The {011}-interface relaxation, by shearing along 〈011〉 directions, accounts for a rather high density of edge dislocations near the twin boundary thus formed. The rutile-type SnO 2 could be alternatively transformed from orthorhombic CaCl 2-type structure (denoted as o) following parallel crystallographic relationship, ( 0 1 ¯ 1 ) r//( 0 1 ¯ 1 ) o; [111] r//[111] o, and full of commensurate superstructures and twins parallel to (011) of both phases.