Synthesis and Characterization of Single-Crystalline SnO2Nanowires

Dezhou Wei,Lijun Jia,Mingyang Li,Shuling Gao,Yanbai Shen,Wengang Liu,Baoyu Cui,Cong Han

doi:10.1155/2013/761498

Abstract

Tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires were synthesized on oxidized silicon substrates by thermal evaporation of tin grains at 900°C in Ar flow at ambient pressure. Structural characterization using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy shows that SnO2nanowires have a single crystal tetragonal structure. Scanning electron microscopy observation demonstrates that SnO2nanowires are 30–200 nm in diameter and several tens of micrometers in length. The surface vibration mode resulting from the nanosize effect at 565.1 cm−1was found from the Fourier transform infrared spectrum. The formation of SnO2nanowires follows a vapour-solid (VS) growth mechanism. The gas sensing measurements indicate that SnO2nanowire gas sensor obtains peak sensitivity at a low operating temperature of 150°C and shows reversible response to H2gas (100–1000 ppm) at an operating temperature of RT-300°C.

Highlights

In recent years, much more attention has been focused on the research field of quasi-one-dimensional nanostructural materials due to their importance for understanding the fundamental properties of low dimensionality and the wide range of their potential applications in nanodevices [1, 2]
Gas sensors based on SnO2 nanomaterials have shown higher sensitivity, faster response, and enhanced capability to detect low concentration gases compared with the corresponding thin film materials [16, 17]
The measurements of H2 gas sensing properties demonstrated that SnO2 nanowire gas sensor obtained peak sensitivity at a low operating

Summary

Introduction

Much more attention has been focused on the research field of quasi-one-dimensional nanostructural materials due to their importance for understanding the fundamental properties of low dimensionality and the wide range of their potential applications in nanodevices [1, 2]. Considerable efforts have been devoted to the research on the synthesis and characterization of SnO2 nanomaterials such as nanowires [11, 12], nanotubes [13], nanorods [14], and nanobelts [15, 16] by using various synthetic methods. Among these methods, thermal evaporation is widely used because of its simple operation, low cost in preparation, and large-scale production. The measurements of H2 gas sensing properties demonstrated that SnO2 nanowire gas sensor obtained peak sensitivity at a low operating (211)

Experimental

Results and Discussion

Conclusions