Molten salt synthesis of Zn2SnO4 micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology

Abstract

Inverse cubic spinel Zn2SnO4 micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology were prepared by the molten salt method. The influences of the molten salt system and calcination temperature on Zn2SnO4 crystalline phase composition and particle morphology were studied. The results show that the molten salt constituent has an important effect on the end products, and high pure Zn2SnO4 micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology can be synthesized at about 900 °C in KCl-ZnCl2 salt system. The formation of octahedron Zn2SnO4 microstructures might result from the crystal growth mechanism “dissolution–diffusion–crystallization–dissolution–recrystallization”. Compared to the conventional solid phase reaction process, the formation temperature of pure octahedron Zn2SnO4 micro crystals of average grain size of about 2 μm, via the molten salt method is decreased for more than 200 °C.