SnO2 nanowhiskers and their ethanol sensing characteristics

SnO2 nanowhiskers of mass production have been synthesized by evaporating metal tin (Sn) powders at 800 degreesC. The synthesized products were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Each SnO2 nanowhisker was a tetragonal rutile single crystal, with the diameters ranging from 50 to 200 nm and the lengths extending to tens of micrometres. The SnO2 nanowhiskers exhibited a sensitivity of 23 to 50 ppm ethanol gas at 300 degreesC. Our results demonstrated that SnO2 nanowhiskers have a promising application for gas sensor fabrication.