Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline tin oxide by sol-gel method

Nanocrystalline SnO2 particles have been synthesized by a sol-gel method from the very simple starting material granulated till. The synthesis leads a sol-gel process when citric acid is introduced in the solution obtained by dissolving granulated tin in HNO3. Citric acid has a great effect on stabilizing the precursor solution, and slows down the hydrolysis and condensation processes. The obtained SnO2 particles range from 2.8 to 5.1 nm in size and 289-143 m(2) g(-1) in specific surface area when the gel is heat treated at different temperatures. The particles show a lattice expansion with the reduction in particle size. With the absence of citric acid, the precursor hydrolyzes and condenses in an uncontrollable manner and the obtained SnO2 nanocrystallites are comparatively larger in size and broader in size distribution. The nanocrystallites have been characterized by means of TG-DSC, FT-IR, XRD, BET and TEM. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.