Rapid synthesis of nanocrystalline SnO2 powders by microwave heating method

Nanocrystalline SnO2 powders of about 3 nm in size have been prepared by a microwave irradiation heating technique from an aqueous solution in the presence of SnCl4 and urea. The nanocrystalline SnO2 particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and reflection spectrum. A bandgap is estimated to be 4.5 eV from the optical measurement of the nanoparticles. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.