Hydrothermal synthesis of SnO2 nanoflower arrays and their optical properties

Large-scale SnO2 nanoflower arrays were successfully synthesized on indium, tin oxide glass substrates in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) using a hydrothermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the products have a flowerlike architecture and consist of nanorods. The growth mechanism of the products is also discussed. Room-temperature photoluminescence was also carried out to investigate their optical properties. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.