Temperature dependent structural and optical properties of tin oxide nanoparticles

Nanocrystalline tin oxide (SnO2) powders were synthesized through wet chemical route using tin metal as precursor. The morphology and optical properties, as well as the effect of sintering on the structural attributes of SnO2 particles were analyzed using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The data revealed that the lattice strain plays a significant role in determining the structural properties of sintered nanoparticles. The particle size was found to be 5.8 nm, 19.1 nm and 21.7 nm for samples sintered at 300 degrees C, 500 degrees C, and 700 degrees C, respectively. Also, the band gaps were substantially reduced from 4.1 eV to 3.8 eV with increasing sintering temperatures. The results elucidated that the structural and optical properties of the SnO2 nanoparticles can be easily modulated by altering sintering temperature during de novo synthesis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.