A comparative study of the sol-gel synthesized nanostructured SnO[sub 2] powders

Abstract

SnO 2 nanopowders were synthesized by different sol-gel preparation methods using SnCl 4 .5H 2 O and variable concentration of ammonia water as precursor in different solvents in order to obtain different particle size for their gas sensing applications. These nanopowders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy and PL spectroscopy. XRD study confirmed the formation of SnO 2 nanoparticles and particle size was estimated using Scherrer's formula. SEM micrographs also suggested the formation of well crystallized, finer grain size and slightly agglomerated nanoparticles. UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to deduce the band gap of nanostructured SnO 2 . PL spectroscopy suggested the formation of oxygen deficient nanostructured SnO 2 . A comparative study of these measurements carried out on synthesized SnO 2 nanopowders by different methods, in order to obtain suitable properties for their gas sensing applications, is presented and discussed in the paper.